Cold by the Campfire
by SongWriter18
Summary: The Anubis gang is going on a camping trip, and it seems normal, but is it really when the Sibuna gang is involved? What's the mystery this time, and when a counseler takes a liking to Amber, how will Alfie react? Fabina, Jara, Amfie, Peddie, maybe Moy.
1. Chapter 1

**Nina POV**

I was sitting in science class, not really paying attention because Fabian was sitting next to me, smiling at me with his adorable, distracting, toothy smile, holding my hand.

Mr. Sweet only caught my attention again when he announced he had a great surprise for us. I turned my attention back to the bow-tie clad teacher, knowing Sweetie the surprise was probably a test or some other stupid thing like that. Nonetheless, I listened avidly.

"What?" Everyone demanded.

"As an end-of-term trip, the school is taking your camping!" He exclaimed. "It is a great chance to bond, and learn more about environments; it is a great science learning experience!" he said excitedly.

A few people groaned, and Amber sat up. "Wait, camping? As in, nature? As in, sleeping in a tent?"

Mr. Sweet smiled. "Yes, Miss Millington. A camping trip. We need permission slips from your parents, and we leave in three weeks for a week-long trip to a nice location by a lake." He began handing out yellow permission slips, and brochures for the camp site. At least Gran was still in town for a few more days so I could get her signature before we left.

The bell rang, and I slung my bag over my shoulder, falling into step next to Fabian and Amber. "The trip sounds pretty fun," Fabian said.

"Fun?" Amber exclaimed. "Um, no. I was going to say torture. A whole week with no electricity, no phone service, and bugs? Gross!"

I smiled and shook my head. "Oh, come on, Amber. It will be fun. It's just like the beach," I said, looking at the brochure which pictured a sparkling blue lake with a small, sandy beach, and trees in the background. "And look, there are at least bathrooms!"

Amber sighed. "I guess… but there better be service." She glanced at me. "And, don't think you are getting out of outfit shopping with me just because this is outdoors. Trust me; there will be a major shopping trip."

I rolled my eyes, groaning. "Fine."

Amber stopped, looking at me with her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?" I asked. Was there something on my face?

"I meant now!" Amber whined, stomping her foot.

"Amber, _right now_?" I asked, looking at Fabian. We had been planning to have a picnic.

Amber nodded, she looked at Fabian. "Sorry, but this is an emergency. You can have your romantic Fabina date after this, it'll only be…" She looked at her designer watch.

"Three hours," I muttered. "Maybe we can do the picnic at dinner?"

Fabian smiled, knowing there was no way I could possibly worm my way out of a shopping spree with Amber. "It's a date."

I smiled, rolling my eyes. I stood on my tiptoes and pecked Fabian on the cheek, then allowed Amber to drag me away for the hour-long impromptu shopping trip.

I walked into my room, weighed down with new purchases. I threw my many bags on the ground, along with some of Amber's, because she had bought a _lot _more than me. And that was saying something, because everything I even _touched _Amber insisted I buy.

I glanced at the clock, reading 5:57. I only had about thirty minutes until I was supposed to meet Fabian in the park for our picnic. I whirled around, rushing around in a hurry to find the perfect outfit and what to do. I had just laid my hand on a pair of dark jeans when Amber intervened. "You obviously know nothing about picnic dates!" She said. She went over to her side of the room and tossed me a pair of white jeans, along with a red shirt. It was a bit too dressy for my liking, but I was able to convince Amber I didn't need jewelry or make-up.

When the clock read 6:20, I finally broke away from Amber's grasp and rushed down the stairs and across the immaculate green lawn to the park. I finally arrived at our picnic spot right at 6:30, panting slightly. I grinned shyly at Fabian and sat on the blanket, loving the way his blue eyes sparkled in the light from the sunset.

I boarded the large red bus, my little backpack slung over one shoulder. I glanced around the bus, finally spotting my Anubis house-mates near the back of the bus, waving me over. There was an open spot between Fabian and Amber, and I grinned as I took it. The five-hour drive to the campsite was sure to be interesting.  
>I began to talk to my friends, but after about five minutes Mr. Sweet boarded the bus, trying to silence everyone. When the vehicle was relatively quiet, he spoke up. "Okay, we are about to depart for the campsite. Everyone will stay in a tent with your roommates, and you and your housemate's tents will be relative to each other. When we arrive, you all must be very good, pertaining to all the rules set in place, and you must tell an adult before you wander off somewhere," he ordered. "You… never know what may be in these woods and caves," Sweetie shuddered. Was I the only one who thought this was a bit suspicious?<p>

Aside from my unease, I was completely psyched about this trip. I smiled at Fabian, and we talked awhile, but eventually I began to be taken over by fatigue, because I hadn't slept much the previous night due to my anticipation. I smiled at Fabian. "I'm tired. I think I'm going to try and get some sleep," I informed him.

Fabian smiled. "Okay, sweet dreams."

A few hours later, I blinked, coming back into reality and finally realizing where I was. I blinked a bit more, my eyes adjusting to the light. When I looked up, I realized my head was on Fabian's shoulder, his arm was around me, I sat up slightly, grinning as I realized Fabian was reading, by the looks of it, it was his favorite book: The Solar System is Your Friend. He'd bought a new copy after Amber burned his signed one.

Fabian looked up from his book, smiling as he realized I was awake. "Hey! Did you sleep well?"  
>I blushed slightly. "Yeah, sorry."<p>

"It's no problem," Fabian smiled warmly at me, making me melt a bit inside.

I beamed back, taking his hand. "So, how far are we from the site?"

Fabian looked at his new calculator watch, the one I'd gotten him as a birthday present after Alfie smashed his old one with a shoe. "We should be there in about another hour."

I smiled, leaning forward to pull a book out of my bag. "Okay, perfect."

The bus turned onto a bumpy road, and I closed my book, looking past Fabian to see out the window. I was greeted by waving limbs of trees, and leaves fluttering in the breeze. The sky above was a beautiful blue, like something you would see in a pastel or a painting. The sun cast rays of light across a field of waving green grass, illuminating a clear teal lake, shining off the surface bright enough to blind me. Through the now-open window, I could smell the intoxicating fragrance of hundreds of flowers in a fresh bloom; I could hear the birds chirping their songs and the fish jumping in the crystal water.

The large bus rolled to a stop in front of a small log cabin, and a short, balding man waddled out, greeting Sweetie as he stepped off the bus, but not before warning us to stay put.

"Wow!" I breathed, still looking at the picturesque landscape we had just arrived at.  
>Fabian smiled at me. "It's really nice here, huh?"<br>Amber snorted. "It's okay, but it's nothing compared to my daddy's lake, I mean where is the giant lake house?"

I rolled my eyes. "Amber, we are camping! Remember?"

Amber sighed. "Whatever. Then where are the cute counselors?"

"Um, I think that is only in movies, Amber," I said, and then I glanced across the row a bit to where the favorite comedy duo was sitting. "And, I thought you were dating Alfie again?"

Amber again, flipping a lock of her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "So? I still would like to have a cute counselor!"

I snorted, finally able to get out of the awkward conversation when Mr. Sweet stepped back onto the bus. "Okay, we have finally arrived! Students, follow the owner of your house to the spaces you will pitch tent, they will know where to go."

Everyone from Anubis house stood to follow Trudy, because of course Victor wasn't about to go camping for a whole week with all of us. He despised us, and probably had some new, crazy scheme to get immortality by now.

Amber and I had finished pitching our tent… or, rather, _I _had finished pitching our tent. Amber sighed in relief. "Finally!" she said, stepping inside to drop her bags. I dragged mine through the door, setting it down on my side of the tent. We spent quite a bit of time laying out our sleeping bags, and Amber began to set up a little cot for her to sleep on. I rolled my eyes as she tried – and failed – desperately to put it up alone, but eventually she had call in Alfie for help.

I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face as I finished helping Amber untangle Alfie from the cot. She really shouldn't have called him in; she could've done better by herself. After Alfie had limped away, silently cursing under his breath, an unfamiliar face poked into our tent.  
>A boy a bit older than Amber and I grinned at us. He had a head of curly brown hair, and a goofy grin on his face, extenuating his blue eyes.<br>"Well, hulloo!" Amber said, obviously thrilled. "I'm Amber! And you are?"

The boy smiled. "I'm Harry, I'm a counselor here."

Amber caught my eye, smiling triumphantly and winking. "Oh, do you need something?"

"No," the boy answered. "I was actually coming around to all the tents to ask the same thing." He looked at me, smirking. "Hullo."

I smiled. "I'm Nina, and we're fine, thank you…"

"Actually!" Amber cut in. "I need some help setting up my cot!" She said, gesturing to her brand new, pure pink, messed up cot, thanks to Alfie.

Harry laughed. "No problem… but… what happened to it?"

Amber sighed. "Let's just say it didn't go as planned."  
>Harry grinned, stepping forward and plucking up the wrongly assembled cot. Amber stood back, watching him as he fixed it.<br>As they stood there, I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you later, Amber. I'm going to go see how Fabian is doing, nice to meet you, Harry." I crawled out of the tent and ventured off, away from the flirting Amber and Harry to find my boyfriend. Anyway, I'd heard there was going to be a campfire soon, and what's more romantic than a sunset, a fire and s'mores?

**So, what did you think of the first chapter? I am going to start a mystery in the next chapter. I might have Harry be interested in Nina or Amber, but it will be Fabina and Amfie in the end, don't worry. The next chapter will probably put some focus on either Jara or Peddie. Which do you think? Review! ~S~**


	2. Echo

**Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I am going to take a moment to reply to comments:  
>Swagster: Good point! I'll think about that! XD<strong>

**JessIsTheBest: Thanks, I had some trouble fitting it into only 255 characters! I tend to write long summaries that ramble on forever.**

**If you ever have any questions or comments, just ask, and I'll reply! XD**

**So, on with the story!**

**Alfie POV**

Some dude poked his head into Jerome and mine's tent. "Hey, we are lighting the fire for s'mores now. When you're ready, come on out."

I really had no idea who the guy was, but he'd offered up _s'mores_, so I gladly followed. Jerome followed close behind. He clapped a hand on my back. "Dude, you look like a golden retriever."

I shook off my friend's hand and followed with a bit less urgency. I finally turned on the path to practically get my eyebrows scorched off by roaring fire before me. The 'campfire' was as tall as me, with blue-green embers glowing brightly at the bottom. I looked uncertainly at the bald man who'd first talked to Sweetie. "Are you sure this thing won't burn up the entire forest?"

The man smiled warmly. "No, son. I'm quite positive it won't."

I was still unsure as I sat on a log, putting a marshmallow on a stick. Maybe that guy was an alien, and these were alien s'mores.

I shrugged. A s'more is a s'more, right?  
>After a while, people began trickling over to see what the fuss was about, having the same reaction as I had, jumping back in awe of the large inferno before them. Fabian and Nina came 'round the corner, their faces flushed, holding hands, and Mara came and immediately began flirting with Jerome. I sat alone still, waiting for Amber, and stuffing my face with as many s'mores as possible before she could come and tell me to lay off of them.<p>

But, of course, Amber finally arrived, prancing in without even a flinch as she saw the blaze. She took a seat by me, of course, but soon waved over the boy who had alarmed me of the fire. How did she know him?

I got up to get another graham cracker, and when I turned to sit back down, I heard Amber talking to that boy… and _flirting. _I whirled around, wanting to barf as I saw Amber twirling a lock of her perfect blonde hair around a finger, and smiling at that guy, batting her eyelashes. I looked down at my s'more, suddenly not hungry. I grumpily stomped over to Jerome, where he had his arm around Mara, and was laughing, everything in his life perfect for the moment. I slammed my uneaten s'more in his hand, ignoring his questioning calls as I stalked back to Amber.

I plopped down by Amber, putting my arm around her shoulder and grabbing her hand. I kissed her cheek, and she looked at me, surprised. I'm not really the kind of guy to be that… open with my feelings, but with Amber flirting with a guy right in front of me, I was suddenly very possessive. I acted like the other guy wasn't there. "Hey, Ambs!" I said.

Amber blushed bright pink. "Alfie! Hi!" She sounded happy, but her face revealed the truth: that she was completely embarrassed. She smiled nervously, turning to the other boy. "Um, Harry, this is Alfie, Alfie this is Harry," she said introducing us.

Harry didn't stick out his hand for me to shake, and I wouldn't want to shake it anyway. What I wanted right now was to rub it in his face that Amber was my girlfriend.

I turned back to Amber, grinning. "So, baby, do you want to go on a walk?" I said, pulling her up off of the log.

Amber stuttered. "Uh, yeah, sure."

As I pulled Amber away, I really didn't know what to think. All I knew was Amber had been hardcore flirting with that git, and I didn't like it one bit.

**Jerome POV**

As I sat with Mara at the campfire, I was probably the happiest guy in the world. I had my arm around her shoulder, laughing as we continued seeing who could shove the most marshmallows in their mouth, continuing the contest that Mick had interrupted, right before Rufus had kidnapped me again. I grinned at Mara as she shoved another squishy marshmallow into her small mouth. How could someone be doing something so disgusting and still look so cute and dainty while doing it? It wasn't really fair.

Mara chewed for what seemed like hours, one finger in the air to indicate she needed a moment. I waited patiently, smiling, as she gulped and swallowed the mouthful of marshmallows. "Okay, I don't think I'll ever eat another marshmallow again," she sighed. Then she grinned deviously at me. "Now it's your turn."

I sighed, taking my arm off of her shoulder and reaching into the bag of marshmallows at my feet. I popped them one by one into my mouth as Mara laughed, counting. I got seven into my mouth, one more than she had, and tried to say, "See, it's easy!" but, it came out as, 'ree? Ifs eafy… glub glub' as I half-choked and had to start chewing.

Mara laughed. "Okay, you win."

I smiled after I had choked down the mallows, holding up my arms. "I'm victorious!"

Mara laughed, and I smiled back. I just loved to see her happy like that, her laugh made me melt inside. I couldn't recall a time she'd seemed so happy with that meathead, Mick. See, I was a better match for her anyway! What did they ever talk about, anyway? His training schedule? Turns out Mara and I have a lot in common.

I smirked at Mara, my new girlfriend, laughing and listening as she began to tell a story. At one point, Mara shivered, and I shrugged off my jacket, handing it to her. I'm pretty sure as she put it on, I saw her sniff it, but I could be hallucinating.  
>Alfie stomped over to me, and as I held up my hand in a slight wave, he shoved a non-eaten s'more in my open palm, turning on his heel and walking away. "Um, Alfie? What was that about?" I called after him, but he didn't answer.<br>I turned back to Mara to find her laughing, and I turned up my nose, throwing the s'more in the fire and shaking my hand, trying to get of the last bits of marshmallow and melted chocolate. "I've had enough marshmallows for a while," I said.

"You've got that right," Mara agreed.  
>I looked down at her, her eyes like pools of melted chocolate in the firelight, and felt a burst of pride that she was <em>mine, <em>she was finally my girlfriend. And just to prove it to myself, I leaned down, catching Mara's neck with one hand, and kissed her.

**Nina POV**

I smiled at Fabian, catching his hand in mine and leaning on his shoulder. Across the fire, I could see Amber flirting with Harry, and Alfie stomped off, with Amber in tow. That couldn't be good.

Fabian looked down at me. "Fancy going for a walk?" He asked me.

I nodded, grinning. "Yes, I would _fancy _that," I replied, still finding the English saying funny.

Fabian smiled, pulling me up off of the log and intertwining his fingers in mine. As he did so, my stomach flip-flopped in glee. I pranced along beside him, hopping lightly over a log when I needed to. We finally wound up along the pure white beach, and we took off our shoes, walking in the lapping waves and laughing, just loving that we were together.

After a while, we sat down, our toes curled in the sand. I leaned on Fabian's shoulder, and he put his arm around me. We were silent, looking out across the vast, crystal lake, and the full moon's shimmering reflection off of the mirror-like water. "It's beautiful," I murmured.

"Not as beautiful as you," Fabian said.

I looked up at him, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Because even though that line was cheesy, it was still really sweet. "Really?"

Fabian smiled down at me. "Really."

I smiled, nudging him. "Stop it."

Fabian nudged me lightly back. "It's true," He turned to me, a serious expression on his face. "You are truly gorgeous."

I blushed, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

Fabian laughed lightly, touching the tip of my nose with one finger. "And you are really adorable when you blush like that."

I smiled up at him, pressing my lips to his, the smile still plastered on my face.

Suddenly, I was having a truly weird out-of-body occurrence. I could still feel the warmth of Fabian's lips on mine, and I could still feel his arms around my waist, the sand beneath my toes, but I suddenly wasn't _there_, and the sensations were fading into the back of my mind. I was back by the roaring fire, drifting forward. There was no need to jump over the logs; I simply swept right through them. No one else was there.

When I was approaching the fire, I knew I should feel scorching heat. I was getting too close, far too close. Why wasn't I getting burned? I couldn't feel the heat, in fact, instead of burning up, I was freezing. If I had been in my body, I would have shivered. No, if I were in my body, I would've shriveled up and been burned.

Suddenly, I was engulfed in the cold flames. They licked at me, unable to touch me with their heat. I suddenly stopped, in the heart of the inferno, the blue tongues of fire beneath what should be my feet. I turned in a full circle, and spoke, my voice repeating as if there were twenty of me.

"Who brought me here?" I whispered, my odd voice echoing around.

There began a hissing sound, growing around me, as if something were burning. Well, heck, something should be burning… _I _should be burning. Why wasn't I? The quiet hissing kept growing, changing into a voice.

"Chosen One," it growled.

"Who is there?" I asked frantically.

"Chosen One," The voice repeated.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Beware the solid cold heat," the voice said, talking in riddles.

"What does that mean?" I asked. I have had enough riddles for _three _lifetimes.

"Beware the solid cold heat, or pay the eternal price," the voice commanded again. Then, I was ripped away from the flames, and the warmth rushed back into my body.

Everything went black for a moment, and then I was seeing spots on my eyelids. I could hear the small waves crashing on the shore, only feet away; I could feel the cool, wet sand between my toes. "Nina!" someone called desperately. I felt as if I was floating in nothingness, stuck. I tried desperately to open my eyelids. The scared voice pained me to hear.

"I'm okay!" I wanted to call. I tried to force my lips apart to answer. I wanted to tell Fabian I was okay; I didn't want to hear him so scared. Why was he scared?

There were weights on my eyelids and lips; my chest felt like it was under a boulder. "Nina! Can you hear me?" Fabian cried desperately.

I gasped, finally getting air into my lungs. But I still couldn't force my lips or eyes open.

"Nina, oh, are you okay? Nina! Please, please, please be okay," Fabian begged.

"Of course!" I wanted to tell him. "I'll do anything for you, Fabian." But I couldn't! Why couldn't I?

There was coolness on my face, and I remembered the haunting warning. I sat upright, gasping in fear, my eyelids flying open.

"Nina!" Fabian gasped, kneeling in front of me, one of his hands on my shoulder, his clear blue eyes calculating and worried, his eyebrows scrunched together. "Are you okay?"

I put my hand to my head. And the voice warned me again. "Tell no one!" It hissed. It scarred me so deeply, shaking me to my core. I knew I had to do what it said.

"Uh, yeah. What happened?"  
>Fabian shook his head, still obviously watching me, worried. "I don't know. We were kissing, and then when we pulled apart, you just fell back and fainted. Are you sure you are okay?"<p>

"Yeah. I… I must just be tired. I think I should go to my tent and go to sleep."

Fabian looked at me, nodding. "Come on, I'll take you down there." He helped me up, wrapping his arm around my waist and walking back across the beach. He kept watching me, uncertainty in his shining blue eyes. When we came across the fallen log, instead of letting me jump over it, he lifted me over it and took my waist again, gently tugging me along. When we got to my tent, it was still empty. He tucked me into my sleeping bag. "You sure you are okay?"  
>I nodded.<p>

"Do you need anything?" He asked me.

"No, I'm fine," I said. Right now, I just wanted to be alone in my thoughts, no matter how much they frightened me.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning," Fabian said, still uncertain. He kissed my forehead and left.

With the few moments I had of solidarity, I thought back over my unusual experience. I knew not what the riddle meant, but I knew by the urgency of the voice, I had to find out and stay away, for my own safety.

My _eternal_ safety, apparently.

As I drifted to sleep, I heard the voice there again, hissing in my ear and dissolving away. _"Beware. Beware the stone cold flame, Chosen One. Or pay the eternal price. Chosen One, beware."_

Then I blacked out again.

**So, what do you think? I'm not exactly sure where this mystery is going, but I have a vague idea. I've (obviously) decided it will be Amfie drama instead, thanks to Swagster for the idea! What did you think of this chapter? Oh, and Peddie is coming in the next chapter, don't worry, Peddie fans! Review! XD ~S~**


	3. Ignite

**This is going to be my Peddie chapter, and as the promo for HOA would say, "The mystery goes deeper than ever". And it will! :) Mwahaha. So, responses!**

**Anonymous person (No name):I am doing some Moy, in fact, there's Moy in this chapter! :)**

**Nobody Knows But Me: Thanks! I have a really good idea for the cold flame… and what happens in this chapter.**

**HouseOfAnubisIsMyLife: Thanks, I'm trying to keep this story as close to the actual show as possible, and the mystery is the whole base of it!**

**Okay, enough chatting, on with the story! XD**

**Patricia POV**

You know what's really romantic? Campfires. You know what's _not _romantic, but _really_ awkward? Your boyfriend's dad being at that campfire and watching your every move.

As Eddie and I sat side by side on the log, laughing, roasting marshmallows and holding hands, I could feel Mr. Sweet glaring at me. Which made it totally horrible; we were just trying to just have some fun, since all of our dates had ended up in disaster. As I laughed, leaning in to press my lips to Eddie's, Mr. Sweet sauntered up to us, calling for him. "Edison! Edison, may I talk to you?" he said, straightening his bow tie. Seriously, who even wears a bow tie to camping? Only Sweetie. It was just my luck he was my boyfriend's father.

Eddie groaned, pulling away from me, but keeping his hand on my neck, and his fingers intertwined with mine. He half-turned his head, still looking at me. It wasn't fair how one look could make me melt. "What?" Eddie asked.

"Edison, I need to talk to you, this instant!" Mr. Sweet demanded.

Eddie groaned, smiling and rolling his eyes apologetically to me, before releasing me and stalking off after his father.

I sat there alone, and suddenly, I heard Eddie yelling. Apparently he and his dad were in a very heated discussion. I thought about seeing what all the fuss was about, but after all the drama Eddie and I had endured, I thought better of it. Seconds later, Eddie walked back into the clearing alone. He ran a finger through his carefully gelled hair and took back his seat next to me. "Sorry about that," He apologized.

I shrugged. "What was wrong?"

Eddie gulped. "Just… it was nothing." Okay, I was really curious now, but I brushed it off easily when Eddie pressed his lips back against mine. I got lost back into the kiss, until someone coughed.

I pulled myself away from Eddie, turning to see who it had been. Jerome stood by us, his arms crossed and an amused look on his face. "Well, a bit of PDA, huh? I thought you were better than that, Sweetie Junior," he commented.

Eddie glared at Jerome, and I held his hand, holding him back. "What's it to you, weasel? You just wish Mara would kiss you like that." I snapped.

Jerome blushed, grabbing a marshmallow and walking away, and Eddie smiled at me. I felt my face going pink with pride. "How do you do it?" Eddie asked. "How do you know exactly the right thing to tick people off?"

I grinned. "Well, you get used to Jerome's stupid comments after five years. And… it's a gift. You're not so bad at it either!"

Eddie smiled, catching me in another kiss, making my heart jump with glee, not that I was going to admit it. But I was proud of myself. Finally, I was learning how to be a better girlfriend.

**Joy POV**

I sat at the campfire awkwardly, surrounded by the laughs, kissing and coos of the others, all of them desperately in love with someone. I had been, but now he was in love with someone else. Oh, the tragedies that occur when you are gone for a year. I had missed my window.

I glumly roasted my marshmallow over the fire, and as I was watching the flames, my eye caught on a glint of blonde hair. I looked up, for what I don't know. Across the fire sat Mick Campbell, looking just as depressed as I probably did. His head was drooped, his marshmallow in the bluest blue of the coals. Uncertain what I was doing, I stood and walked over to Mick, dropping down on the log next to him. "Um, I think you overcooked your marshmallow," I pointed out as it shriveled up, completely black, and fell into the coals.

Mick looked up, surprised, and then looked at the fallen marshmallow. "Oh, yeah, I guess I did."

His voice was lacking its usual showiness, the boast that always seemed to be there. He didn't reach for another marshmallow, which was a lot unlike him. I reached into the bag at his feet, pushing it onto a stick and putting it in the flames, just barely, rotating it and cooking it to perfection. I pulled it out and put it on a graham cracker with some chocolate. I waved the s'more in front of Mick's face. "You know you want it!" I teased, surprised he wasn't drooling.

Mick smiled slightly, taking the s'more from me.

I clasped my hands in my lap, preparing to do what I did best… pry. "So, what's wrong, Mick?"

Mick looked at me morosely, then glared pointedly across the fire to where Jerome and Mara were in full lip-lock stage. He scowled.

"Ooh," I winced. "Trust me. I know how it feels."

Mick looked at me with narrow eyes. "How?"

I shrugged. "Do you know how much it hurts me every time I hear Fabian say Nina's name, every time they kiss in front of me? But… I know it's cheesy, and it never made sense to me, but when you love someone, let them go. It's not worth it to fight with all of your friends over it. Trust me, it just makes things worse."

"Who says Jerome is my friend?" Mick growled.

"Not necessarily Jerome. One thing I've learned about Anubis house residents since Nina and Eddie arrived: everyone picks sides. And one wrong word out of your mouth can turn everyone on you. Patricia hated me for quite a while," I sighed.

Mick smiled slightly. "Thanks, Joy."

**Eddie POV**

As I kissed Patricia the third time tonight, we finally weren't interrupted again… at least by anything _visible_. As I was locked in a kiss with her, a horrible voice whispered in my ear, like nails on a chalkboard. "Osirian." It hissed.

I turned, finding the entire clearing empty but the fire still roaring, which was only one weird thing right now, another was that even though I'd pulled away from Patricia, I could feel her lips on my, her hands around my neck. And not just the tingling feeling I sometimes got when we pulled apart, the actual feelings were still there.

Like a ghost with an internal GPS, I drifted quickly out of the clearing, and I could've sworn I saw something slip past me… but I couldn't have. I really had no idea where I was, as I drifted out to a pearl-white beach. It was deserted as well, aside from the crashing waves on the shore, which I drifted towards for some obscure reason.

I heard the voice hissing at me again as I drew close to the water. "Osirian."

"I'm here. What do you want?" I cried.

But I didn't stop. I stuck my toe in the crystal water, expecting it to be like ice. But instead of cold, I felt an incomprehensible heat. It was burning me up, like there were flames ripping my soul out of my body. I wanted to scream, but my air was cut off as I walked farther into the water, when really I wanted to go back to shore. I wanted to jump in a bucket of ice, my body was on fire. It was as if I was in an inferno, or on the sun, when really I was in a lake that should be dead-cold at this time of the year. It made no sense.

Suddenly, my head went under the water, and my head was pounding, but inexplicably I could still breathe. "Why did you bring me here?" I shrieked.

The voice came back to me. "Osirian, beware."

"Beware of what?" I demanded.

"Beware the light burning ice."

"What does that mean?" I demanded, frustrated.  
>"Stay away from the light burning ice, and protect the Chosen One at all costs!" The voice ordered. Then I was whisked backward, out of the water, and back to the campfire, but the heat remained with me. My eyes flew open to find myself with Patricia, surrounded by countless others. I staggered.<p>

"Eddie, what's wrong?" Patricia asked, catching my arm.

I shook my head, still shaken. I looked at the flames, suddenly petrified of the heat. "Nothing, I, uh… I think I should just go lie down," I said, standing.

"Okay," Patricia said, only slightly satisfied with my answer. She stood, pecked me on the cheek, and took her place back as I left the clearing, feeling as unsure of everything as always.

As I passed the beach to walk to my tent, I shivered, and the voice warned me again, as if I needed that. "Osirian, you must fulfill your duty. Beware the light burning ice and protect the Chosen One, or pay the eternal price."

Great. Another life-threatening, paranormal warning, just what I needed.

**So, a bit shorter than the last chapter, but it's still a decent length. What did you guys think of the Peddie, the Moy, and the mystery? Review and let me know! XD ~S~**


	4. Feelings, Fear and Fights

** So, I know this is a fast update, but I was really bored today… anyway, this chapter is a bit fluffy, I've got some Amfie drama, and some Jara – Mickra drama.**

**Bookbabe68: Thanks for pointing that out. I had a line there on word, but I guess it didn't show up on the website.**

**JessIsTheBest: Why, thank you! :)**

**So, now. On with the story!**

**Amber POV**

Alfie dragged me away from the campfire, and I waved slightly at Harry before Alfie finally slowed to a walk. I turned to him. "What was _that _about?" I demanded.

Alfie looked at me, releasing my hand. "Amber, I want to trust you, and I really like you. But… we are in a relationship, and… you were flirting with that git back there, right in front of me!" He roared.

My heart melted as I saw Alfie's face. Who knew he could be so sweet? And… though it was hard to admit, it had been wrong to flirt with Harry. I had to resist, no matter how cute he was. I smiled nervously. "Aww, Alfie! I'm so sorry, I just… we never do anything romantic!" I admitted. "I guess I was just disappointed we haven't gone on a real date yet and… I'm sorry!" I flung my arms around his neck.

Alfie looked incredulous as he staggered then straightened. "It's okay, Amber. I understand."

I pulled away, smiling at Alfie. He was _totally _right. "So, about that date… you want to go for a walk on the beach?" I suggested.

Alfie grinned back, and I almost regretted it. As I took his hand, I shook my head. "Alfred Lewis, if you dare to throw me in the water I swear…"

Alfie's smile sagged only a bit. "Okay, fine. I won't throw you in the water," He agreed.

"Thanks, Boo!" I said. Then, we walked along the beach, holding hands, and it was quite romantic. The sun had almost sunk below the horizon, casting beautiful pink and orange streaks in the sky, contrasting beautifully with the stars and moon. The water was crystal blue with white sand under the surface, glittering. Alfie swung our clasped hands back and forth between us, and I laughed as he turned, rolling up his pant legs and looking out at the lake. He poked his toe into the water, as if he were afraid, and recoiled. "Alfie! You are so weird!" I exclaimed.

Alfie grinned, walking farther into the water, until he was shin-deep. He turned. "Come on!" He said.

"No way!" I protested.

"Come on, please!" Alfie begged.

I giggled as he clasped his hands together, and I stepped in before he actually knelt and got soaked. "I'm not going all the way in there with you, Alfie Lewis!" I said.

Alfie just grinned as I put down my expensive shoes, and walked into the lake, hopping lightly and shivering in the cool water.

Alfie wound his arm around my waist, and we looked out at the vast lake. He leaned down, kissing me. I could feel Alfie's lips on mine, his arms around me, and I loved it.

But if I loved him, why did I keep thinking of Harry?

**Nina POV**

I woke for the third time that night, once again due to the dreams, in each one the voice kept haunting me. I looked across the tent at Amber, where she slept with her pint mask on, above me on her cot. I stood, careful not to wake her, and stepped out of the tent. I wandered the woods, just contemplating what all had happened, why had I heard that voice? Why here, why at that moment? What did the short riddle mean?

As I wandered, I wasn't looking where I was going whatsoever. That's why I squeaked when I ran straight into someone's chest. I fell back with a small 'oof!' and looked up; a bit woozy because I believe my head might have hit a rock. I put my hand to my head, peering up at the other person uncertainly.

Eddie was kneeling over me, his form wavering as I blinked. "Nina? Sorry, are you okay?" He said. We'd been a bit better friends since we found out he was the Osirian, though it was kind of awkward at the same time, seeing as he was supposedly my 'protector'.  
>"Oh, uh… yeah. Sorry, Eddie," I said as Eddie took my arm and helped me up.<p>

"What are you doing up?" Eddie asked me.

"Oh, er…" I paused, unsure if I should tell him the truth. "Couldn't sleep."

"Me either," Eddie said. I thought I saw a flicker of fear reach his eyes.

I bit my lip. I had to tell someone. As I opened my mouth to say something, there was no warning telling me not to. I assumed I just should, I had to talk to someone. And, obviously I wasn't the only one hearing voices. Eddie had admitted he sometimes heard them too. "Eddie, do you believe in… out of body experiences?" I asked nervously.

Eddie's eyes widened, and he coughed. "Uh… yeah. I guess," He said, seeming just as nervous. "Have you ever heard anything about a 'light burning ice'?" He asked.

I frowned. "Uh, no. Have you ever heard anything about a 'stone cold heat'?"

Eddie shook his head. "Look, yesterday, at the campfire… I had this… out of body experience. And… I went to the lake, but it wasn't cold, it was really hot, and… a voice told me to stay away from the light burning ice."  
>My eyes grew wide as he retold this. "Wait, what?"<p>

"Yeah… crazy, right?" Eddie said, trying to keep a light tone.

"No," I said.

"I know… wait, did you say no?" Eddie said, stopping and looking at me.

"I don't think it's crazy. Yesterday, I was on the beach with Fabian, and I had an out of body experience, but I went to the fire and it was freezing. A voice told me to beware the stone cold heat, or pay the eternal price."

Eddie looked at me with incredulity. "What do you think it means?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "Did the voice tell you anything else?"

Eddie blushed, which was definitely out of character for him. "It told me to protect the Chosen One – you – at all costs, or pay the eternal price."

I stood back, contemplating this. A yawn overcame me, and I looked at Eddie. "We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?"  
>Eddie nodded, "Tomorrow."<p>

I turned, feeling even more confused as I walked away from Eddie than I had when I'd ran into him.

**Jerome POV**

Every time I kissed Mara, I felt complete and utter elation. How had she not let me kiss her before the dance? It wasn't really fair. Granted, it wasn't fair how much I loved her either. And every time we kissed, I could feel Mick's eyes on us, watching. That just made me feel even happier.

The second morning, around the fire after breakfast, I smiled at Mara as she skipped up to me and pressed her lips to mine. We talked a while, then kissed again, to my utter delight. Mara pulled apart from me after a moment and stood. "I'll be right back, okay?"

I nodded, grinning after her as she left.

A voice brought me out of my daydreams. "What are you smiling about, you no-good git?"  
>I looked up, immediately recognizing the voice. "You are the git, Campbell." I growled.<p>

"Mara supposes you've changed. I know the truth. A ridiculous, irritating jerk as big as you in no way could _change_," Mick scowled.

I stood, towering over Mick. "Oh, and you think after ditching Mara for sports you can just prance back in and she'll immediately choose you? You practically chose your future career over her, and feelings can change, Mick. Like Mara even had feelings for you in the first place," I snapped.

Mick glared up at me. "I came back to say I was sorry, because we all know Mara _loved _me, and then you have to go in and choose to start _snogging _my girlfriend!"

"Well, technically you weren't gong out with her anymore. Didn't she dump your sorry butt?" I sneered.

Mick's breathing was hard, and he glared up at me, obvious anger in his eyes, while I glared back with just as much loathing. He wound back his arm, and brought it forward, punching me in the eye.

I staggered, glaring at him and clutching my face. Mick ignored my pain as I tried to stand straight again to beat the git to a pulp. He stood tall before me, bringing back his fist again. He was about to let it fly when a small, dainty figure darted forward, practically tackling Mick and holding him back. "Mick!" Mara screamed, letting go of him finally and brushing her dark curls out of her face. "Why did you do that?" She scolded.

Mick looked incredulous that he'd been caught, and had no way to answer. He stuttered. "Maraculous… I…"  
>I felt a burst of anger, and was about to go off, screaming at him, but Mara broke in for me. "Mick, don't. I… I broke up with you, can't you just accept that?" Mara said.<p>

Mick looked angry now. "Not when you broke up with me for that git!" he roared, pointing at me.

Mara turned to look at me, and gasped, pulling my fingers away from my face and standing on her tiptoes to peer at my eye. She whirled around to face Mick again. "Did you do that?" she roared.

Mick looked sheepish, but the hate was still in his veins. "He deserved it, Mara. He's a right, foul git! You say people can change, and maybe they can, but he can't. He's just going to break your heart."

"You dirty little liar!" I growled angrily, lurching forward. Mara put a hand on my arm to stop me. She glared at Mick, and I suddenly found this entirely entertaining.

"Mick, you were gone, in _Australia_, for, what, six months? You don't know _what _can happen in that amount of time. And, if anyone is going to break my heart, it's you. You are the one who ditched me, Mick! You didn't even have a second thought about it. And don't try and say you did. It is not my fault that while you were gone enjoying your _sports_, I fell in love with someone else. Feelings change, and so do people," she ranted, and my heart soared as she did so. She fell in love with someone else? She loved me?

Mick had a look of utmost rage upon his face, but he turned after a final glare at me and stalked away.

Mara turned to me. "Listen, Mara, I'm sorry, I promise I didn't…"

Mara shushed me by pressing her lips to mine, and my eyes grew wide, well, at least my one good eye. When Mara pulled apart from me, rocking back on her heels, she smiled. "It's okay." She pulled me over to a log and sat me down. "Let me look at your eye."

**So, I got in a bit of a writer's block for the mystery in this chapter, so I decided to put in some relationship stuff, along with some Mickra/Jara drama (who doesn't love that?). So, what did you think of this fluffy chapter? I'll update and add in some more mystery soon. Review! ~S~**


	5. Mixed Messages

**So, my last chapter was my fluffy, cute, Amfie and Jara chapter. This shall be the opposite… my mystery + Fabina + Peddie + Moy chapter! Replies:**

**The Lifeless girl: Haha, yes, I've noticed that a bit too, but I guess it just makes sense and it makes things with Jara a bit better. I've decided they've had enough drama; they should be able to have a drama-less relationship for a while! Thanks!**

**Anonymous reviewer: Thanks, I tend to write stories with most of the relationships in them, because they are just more fun that way! :)**

**Also, thanks to Purple-Tacos-R-Da-Bomb, JessIsTheBest, MeMow122, Jamber11 and bookbabe68, not to mention my anonymous reviewers! Thanks for all the support! :0) SO, on with the story!**

**Nina POV**

I sat on a log in the makeshift kitchen/eating area, looking down at the plate balanced on my legs and just contemplating what all the riddles meant, and why they had come to Eddie and I. The birds chirped happily in the trees, and a small fire for the eggs was burning in front of me, crackling and hissing, only reminding me of the warning. Smoke drifted around the site, making it a bit hard to breathe, not to mention to see. I could hear the laughs and conversations of the other kids around me, all of them with completely normal lives. Why couldn't I have a normal life?

Fabian sat next to me, smiling as usual. But when he saw my vacant, worried expression, his smile dropped away, and he put an arm around me. "What's wrong, Nina? Are you feeling all right?"

I looked at him, my eyes desperate and searching. I couldn't lie to him. Not when I was obviously in need of his help. Looking into his deep eyes, I couldn't lie, and say I was fine. I just couldn't. "No, Fabian. I'm not. I need to talk to you," I said, tossing my tray in the trash and pulling him down to the beach.

Fabian sat down on the hot, white sand, and pulled me down next to him. He put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him. "What's wrong?"

I lay my head on Fabian's shoulder. "I can't go anywhere without something bad or scary happening to me," I sobbed.

"Shh," Fabian soothed, trying to calm me. "Please, tell me, Nina. What's going on?" He begged.

I breathed deeply, trying not to cry. "You know last night, when I fainted?" I said. Fabian nodded. "Before that…" I gasped for breath. "I… I had this out-of body experience, where I could still feel us kissing, but, I wasn't there. I went to the fire, and went in it, but it was freezing. And a disembodied voice told me to beware the stone cold fire or pay the eternal price."  
>Fabian's eyes were wide. Even as crazy as that story had sounded, he knew the truth. It was no laughing matter, not where I was concerned. This was devastatingly real. "I… Nina, how can I help?" Fabian pleaded.<p>

"That's just it," I said, tears freely cascading down my cheeks. "I don't know! That's all the voice told me, and Eddie had a similar experience."  
>Fabian stiffened a bit, for some peculiar reason. He hugged me closer to him. "I will keep you safe," He murmured. "No matter what, Nina. I promise nothing will happen to you."<br>I shivered. "I just don't know what to do," I whispered.

"I don't know either," Fabian admitted. "But we will figure it out."

I leaned up, in desperate need of something stable right now, and kissed him, the tears still rolling down my cheeks.

*************************line**************************************

At lunch that day, as I sat alone when Fabian got up to get a water bottle, I had another shattering revelation. Everything else tuned out, as if it weren't there, and the haunting voice returned just to send shivers down my spine, and confuse me even more.

"Hurry, Chosen One. Find the stone cold heat and destroy it, or suffer the consequence!" It hissed.

"Wait, but you told me to stay away!" I cried desperately.

"_Find it!" _The voice hissed. "And leave the Osirian be. His problems are not yours until the time arises. You will know what to do once you have it."  
>I stopped. "Wait, what?"<p>

"And your pretty boy will suffer the same as you if you fail to destroy the stone cold heat. Find it, or else!" The voice screamed at me.

"No!" I cried. "Please, don't hurt Fabian!"

But the voice was gone, and I was returning to reality.

I jerked upright in my seat, and Fabian turned to me. "What is it?"

I sat, shaking in my seat. "It's all my fault. I messed up everything."

"What happened?" Fabian demanded.

I leaned forward, still shivering, and recounted the previous sort-of conversation to him. "Now the voice told me to find the stone cold heat and destroy it, and…" I gasped for air, still struggling. "Now if I fail you will suffer with me!" I cried.

Fabian was shocked, I could tell, but we'd been through similar situations a few times before… a lot of times before, actually. He put his arm around me. "It'll be okay. Like I said, we are going to figure this out. No matter what."

I looked at him, still unsure. "Okay."

"Now, do you have any idea what the stone cold heat means?" Fabian asked, already getting down to business as always.

"Not really. I mean, stone is rock, or something hard, obviously. But, how can something be cold and hot? Could it have something to do with fire, since I'd been in it when the voice came to me?" I said, just trying to analyze the words.

"I don't know. I mean, it could include a fire in some way I suppose…" His voice drifted off, and I began to lose hope. But Fabian noticed my sinking expression, and immediately sat up. "We will get this 'stone cold heat', Nina. No matter what it takes." He promised.

I smiled slightly. "Thank you." I leaned up, kissing him again; glad to get lost in happiness for a change.

**Eddie POV**

Life could be a _lot _less difficult right now. I mean, even besides the whole 'light burning ice' or whatever, and the whole Osirian thing and my dad not telling me what it is, I also have to try and find time to hang out with Patricia, which I _really _want to do, but my dad is making it close to impossible to have alone time. I mean, when we had been kissing and he'd pulled me away, I'd thought he was going to make more about the Osirian thing clear, but all he did was say a lot of random stuff that didn't clear anything up. He obviously didn't like that I was dating Patricia, not that I cared too much about it.

At breakfast, Patricia turned to me, acting totally normal and Patricia-ish, not noticing my odd behavior. "Hey, want to go for a swim in the lake?" She asked. "Or are you too chicken?"

I grinned, accepting her challenge and thankful to have something to take my mind off of the weird riddle. "No, are you sure _you _can handle it?" Of course, I was a bit unsure, when the weird out-of body experience had taken me into the lake, but it couldn't hurt, right?  
>Patricia flashed me a smile. "Aren't I the one who suggested it?"<p>

I grinned, throwing my empty plate in the trash and waving at her to go change into my swimming trunks.

When I entered my tent, ducking to stay out of the way of the ceiling, I stepped over Fabian and Mick's stuff to my side of the tent, freezing as the voice whispered into my ear. I whipped around, finding only the empty tent, and tingles went down my spine. "Find the light burning ice, destroy it, or pay the price."  
>"Are you crazy?" I hissed, mad now. Why couldn't this disembodied voice make up its stinking mind? "Do you want me to avoid this thing or find it?"<p>

The voice screeched at me in anger, and I put my hands up in surrender. "Find it, Osirian! Leave the Chosen One to her own problems as you do so. You will know how to finish the job when the time comes."

I nodded. "I'll do it."  
>The voice went away, and I sadly collapsed on my sleeping bag, muttering to myself. "Really? Why can't anything go my way, just once?"<p>

**Mick POV**

How can a atrocious person like Jerome get a beautiful, amazing girl like Mara, and then turn everything on and make me look like an idiot? Seriously, it isn't fair. And after all the trouble I just went through to make him look and feel like the git he is, she simply waved me away, sat him down and started making a fuss about his eye. If he were a real man he would've fought back, but he was too weak, and we both knew it. He was all talk; he never _did _anything, besides his stupid pranks.

But could Mara see that? No. All she did was fuss over her him try and make him feel better when he wasn't in any serious pain, at least he shouldn't be if he could defend himself. And of course, when she should be yelling at him too, she just kept cooing at him and snogging him, making me sick to my stomach.

Literally, I wanted to throw up the two burgers I had eaten. No, seriously, two burgers. Ever since I'd seen Mara and Jerome kiss, and they'd suddenly started dating after I'd flown _across the world _to set things right with her, I'd been eating a bit too much. Mara should be right there with me, telling me to back off the sweets and get back to my training schedule, but no. She was too busy flirting and snogging with _Jerome Clarke. _The prankster, cruel, no-good, self-centered _git_, Jerome. What did she even see in him, anyway? What did _they _have in common? I wanted to jump up, stride around the campfire, push Jerome away from Mara and shake her by her shoulders, screaming _"WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THIS GIT? YOU HAVE NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY __**NOTHING **__IN COMMON!" _But, of course, I couldn't.

I sensed someone sit next to me, pretty close next to me, actually, and I looked up to see Joy, smiling slightly at me. "Hullo, Mick," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Is that all you ever say?" I asked.

Joy laughed, getting a little grin out of me. "No, but I can tell you've been pretty down in the dumps lately. What's up?"

I gestured to Mara and Jerome again, where there were now dancing, as someone had brought out there MP3 and started playing it through a wireless speaker.

Joy groaned slightly. "Come on, Mick. I know how it feels, but, you've got to move on. Trust me." She reached out her hand to me. "Come on."

"What?" I asked.

"Come dance with me!" She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. She began dancing with me, and I laughed, finally loosening up. Maybe it would be good for me to let go of the past, and move on to the future…

**So, what do you think of this chapter? I was just thinking about Trudy and Uncle Ade for some odd reason… that would be funny if Uncle Ade was there… he's just so random… haha… okay, enough of my ramblings! Review! :D ~S~**


	6. True Love and True Surprises

**More Jara and Amber/Alfie/Harry in this chapter, along with mystery! REPLIES:**

**HouseOfAnubisIsMyLife: Me too! I find Uncle Ade funny in how he made things awkward with Fabian and Nina in season 1.**

**JessIsTheBest: Thanks, I've read a lot of stories where they go on trips or things like that, so I was trying to make this as unique as possible.**

**I Will Not Follow: Why, thank you! I make things as mysterious as I can! :)**

**MeMow122: I couldn't bring myself to keep Fabian out of it, because Nina always tells him everything… so I had to bring him into it. :)**

**LunaSibuna: I'm still not totally sure what the stone cold heat is going to be, I'm just kind of writing what comes to mind! Thanks!**

**Also thank you to Jamber111, justkeeptyping, GAKUENALICEROCKS, and Purple-Tacos-R-Da-Bomb! Enough jibber-jabber! On with the story!**

**Mara POV**

I can't even believe Mick would go so far as to _punch _Jerome. I mean, I knew he wouldn't be that happy about me dating Jerome now, but why couldn't he just move on, I didn't feel the same for him! As I looked at Jerome's eye, I felt quite sad for him. He would definitely have a black eye there. It was already beginning to swell slightly. At least I could still see his sparkling blue eyes.

Wow, I have it bad.

"Are you sure you are okay?" I asked, gingerly touching his eye.

Jerome smiled at me. "Mara, I think I'll survive. It's just a black eye."  
>I blushed, looking down at my feet.<p>

Jerome touched my chin, pushing it upward so I would look at him. "I do love when you blush like that," He said, smiling at me.

Of course, this just made me blush even more. "Oh, shut up," I said, grinning.

"It's true, Jaffray," Jerome said, pushing a lock of my hair away from my face and tucking it behind my ear.

"And I do love an excuse to look at your eyes," I said. Then, my mouth popped open as I realized what I had said, and I turned bright crimson. I ducked down, hiding behind my hair and biting my lip.  
>Jerome whispered something, it was practically inaudible. But he moved, so he could see me, and tucked my hair back behind my ear once more. My face was still heated up and bright red, but I wasn't hiding behind my curtain of hair any longer. I was silent, frozen, unsure what to do to unsay that. Thing was, I couldn't. We were silent a moment, and I opened my mouth to say <em>something<em>, but Jerome simply took my face in his hands and kissed me. I melted into him, relaxing, totally thankful, because I probably would've screwed up and said something stupid about hedgehogs and road safety.

When we pulled apart, Jerome smiled his sparkling smile, and I blushed again, and he just laughed. I smiled back, unable to resist, his laugh was so contagious, as long as you weren't being pranked. Now that I thought about it, though, he had never pranked me. "Can I ask you something?" I said.

Jerome grinned. "Shoot."

I blushed a bit more, but went on to ask my question. "How long have you liked me?"

It was Jerome's turn to blush, but his eyes stayed serious, and he answered automatically. "Mara, I have loved you since the day I first laid eyes on you."

My jaw dropped. "No, your lying," I said. He had to be!  
>Jerome pulled away slightly. "No, Mara. I'm not lying."<p>

"But… we met when we were, like, eight!" I said, incredulous.

Jerome nodded solemnly at me.

"All this time? Why did you never tell me?" I asked.

"Because you were too busy studying, or spending time with Mick," He replied.

"Well I was stupid," I said. And it was totally true. I had been missing out, for all this time. I pulled Jerome back to me and positively slammed my lips against his.

Someone wolf-whistled, and we pulled apart only slightly. Jerome glared up at the whistler, Eddie. "Lay off," He growled, pushing Eddie away.

Eddie just smirked. "Yeah, sure. Make fun of me and Patricia, when you are doing the same thing. You know it's no different, you hypocrite."  
>I had no idea what they were talking about, but I didn't care, the moment was already ruined. I pulled away, watching the two quarrel, slightly amused.<p>

Jerome looked at me, then back at Eddie, and rolled his eyes. "No, see? It is different, because I'm not Sweetie Junior, and my dad wasn't watching!"  
>Eddie glared back at Jerome. "We all know your dad was watching the first time you kissed Mara, and so was your little sister. In fact, they started fighting about who had told who you two would get together!" He grinned triumphantly as Jerome turned pink.<p>

I smiled at Jerome. "Your dad's pretty cool."

Jerome turned back to me, as if remembering I were there, and blushed more, mumbling something about things being awkward, and then looked at Eddie. "Fine, we're even, just lay off," He said.

Eddie seemed satisfied with this, and he meandered away. I raised my eyebrows at Jerome, I had never seen him give in when he was in a comeback battle with someone. But he just shook his head, and then we resumed kissing, so I forgot to say something about it.

**Harry POV**

I really liked that Amber girl, I mean, she was really good-looking, who wouldn't? That dark-skinned guy, Alfie, I think his name was, was acting all clingy around her, like they were dating, but Amber didn't seem too pleased about it. Maybe that was good for me, perhaps they were going through a rough spot, and maybe they'd break up. I mean, Amber didn't seem like it would bother her much, she'd been flirting with me a whole lot, and it was obvious. Not that I hadn't been flirting back, but still… it seemed like she liked me.

When Alfie dragged Amber away, I was hoping they'd get into a fight, but it was a while before they returned, and when they did, they were both wet to their knees, and were holding hands, grinning. There goes my plan.  
>At some point, though, Alfie and some tall, blonde guy, ran off, laughing, and Amber approached me again, tugging a dark-haired girl along with her. She sat by me, still talking to the girl, about something I didn't know what. "…And I have to get a lot of pictures for you two, because, I admit, I didn't see 'Jara' coming, so I wasn't working on a scrapbook yet! So don't get mad at me for getting a really cute picture of you two kissing!"<p>

I had no idea what _that _was about, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know, so I ignored it. Amber flashed her million-dollar grin at me. "Hi, Harry! This is my friend Mara."

I nodded politely at the Mara girl, and turned my attention back to Amber. I planned on asking her out by the end of the week, and I wasn't letting that Alfie kid get in the way.

**Fabian POV**

Why does it always have to be Nina who is in life threatening situations? Why do all the spirits and whatever have to pick on her, decide she has to do something for them in order to survive? I remembered only a few weeks before, when she had almost gone with Senkhara into the after life. I had been so close to losing Nina, and I couldn't lose her. I just couldn't.

I lay back on the sand, just looking at the blue sky, and contemplating all that Nina had told me, about the stone cold heat, and Eddie having a similar occurrence. What could it mean, the Chosen One and the Osirian both having opposite experience, telling them to destroy something?

Someone sat next to me, and I turned to see Nina, as she lay down next to me. She sighed, snuggling into my side as I automatically put my arm around her shoulders. "I don't know what to do, Fabian," She sighed. "I keep going over the riddles, but they just don't make any sense!"

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling as if I'd let her down that I could not figure out a riddle for once.

"It's okay," Nina said, taking my hand in hers.

Suddenly, the squat man who had greeted Mr. Sweet off the bus waddled onto the beach, calling out to us, and the other straggling campers playing in the cool water and the pearl-white sand. "We are going to explore the caves! Find a partner and meet in the clearing to find where we will go!" He croaked.

I turned my head to look at Nina. "Fancy being my partner?"  
>Nina smiled at the British saying, as always. "Yeah, I would <em>fancy <em>that."

I grinned, happy to take her mind off the riddles, as I took her hand and pulled her up off the sand.

**********************************************line***********************************

It turns out looking through the caves is pretty boring. The caves aren't even the kind you have to climb to; you just go down a staircase in the ground to a series of underground caves. They were nothing special, but it was still pretty cool. I was only able to control myself slightly from going into all-out nerd mode and spitting out random facts about everything we saw. Nina already knows I'm a geek like that, but I try not to be too open with it.

We actually did split off into pairs, as the man had told us. There were quite a few different caves and tunnels, so Nina and I hardly saw any other people. We just walked through the dimly lit, dripping caverns, prattling off about school, home, family, anything but the riddles.

That is, until we found a little pond. I was helping Nina down a bit of a slope, when I slipped and fell, and she fell with me. We landed safely a few feet lower, still dry and out of the pond. "Sorry," I mumbled, and Nina just laughed.

She grabbed onto a little ledge to pull herself up, as did I, but when I did, I happened to glance up at the stalactite-covered ceiling.

"Fabian? What's wrong?" Nina asked, taking in my frozen form.

I just pointed, wide eyed, at the large, pointed stalactite, covered in ice, but glowing red-orange in the light.

Even more incredible than that?  
>The eye of Horus was at the base, just like Nina's locket.<p>

**So? What do you think? I liked writing Harry's part, he's going to be a real jerk. Jerks are just fun to write with. **_**Anyway**_**, I'm thinking of writing one of those '100 things I will not do' lists, but I would put little scenes with them. I already have some of the list worked out. I also might do a Harry Potter story soon. Keep an eye out for those stories, I'm posting the 100 things one soon, and remember, review! Tell me what you thought of this chapter! :) ~S~**


	7. Explode

**Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! HOA's producer announced that there _will _be a Season 3 and preparation for it has started. I CAN'T EVEN WAIT! XD And, I'm calm. Sorry, I had a bit of a freak-out there. ANYWAY, review replies!**

**TheNeonSkunk: Haha, yeah. He needs to come back for Season 3. And thanks!**

**Jamber111: Thanks! I really had fun writing Harry's part, as I said, it's fun writing from a jerk's POV.**

**Nobody Knows But Me: *Evil laugh*. We are going to have to see… :)**

**Lidi999: Thanks! I had to put in that line, I just felt like it was something Fabian would say. I try to keep the characters true to themselves like on the show. (Don't apologize for the caps; I do it all the time in reviews too!) :)**

**Also thanks to JessIsTheBest! Sorry for the late update, but here it is! On with the story!**

**Joy POV**

It was weird. I had never really spent any time with Mick, he was always too busy with sports, or hanging out with Mara or Amber. But I could tell he was really hurting about the whole Jerome and Mara thing, and I knew how that felt. It was kind of nice knowing I wasn't the only one who felt abandoned, unloved. I was pretty much over my whole Fabian obsession, but I could tell everything hadn't really sunk in for Mick. And when it does, it gets worse, so I wanted to help him as much as possible.

After we had danced at the campfire, laughing the whole time at Mick's fail at it, we had sat, eating s'mores and just talking. As we did, I found myself laughing, feeling truly _happy. _It just seemed so easy with Mick. I didn't feel like I had to worry about how I looked, or if I said something stupid that hurt his feelings. As we talked, we opened up, and I discovered Mick had done stupid things in relationships too. We laughed at our own expense, just relishing being together.

The next morning, as I woke, my heart leapt at the thought of seeing Mick at breakfast. Could it be that I was falling for him?

I walked down the long, dirt path to the campfire, smiling and sitting next to Mick. After eating, we sat there long after everyone else had gone, just talking and laughing. But soon, a short man came and told us we were going to the caves.

I internally squeaked, the girl in me quivering. I do _not _like being underground. I was about to open my mouth and turn down the counselor, but Mick smiled at me. "Want to be my partner?"

My open mouth, instead of saying 'I'm not going' betrayed me by saying, "Sure!"

************************************line**********************************

As we walked into the caves and split off from the others, I really felt like slapping myself. The walls were dripping with water, echoing off of the long stone walls. The stalactites above glittered menacingly with ice, and some parts of the stone floor were slippery with ice. The caves stank of mold and rock, cloying and suffocating. My breathing grew rapid, my heart pounding as I gasped for air.

Mick looked at me, his blue eyes concerned. "Are you okay, Joy?" he asked me.

I swallowed, feeling foolish. "I – um… I don't really like being underground," I choked out.

Mick smiled at me slightly. "It's okay, you're fine." He reached out, taking my hand in his, causing my heart rate to grow rapid. I smiled back thankfully at him, loving the feeling of his fingers intertwined with mine.

Maybe what I had been fighting for this whole time had been wrong. Why should I struggle to stay above water, when someone who really appreciates me is right here?

I looked at Mick out of the corner of my eye, and as we walked forward, I was leaving my past behind, and looking to the future.

Goodbye, Fabian, hullo Mick!

**Eddie POV**

The riddles continued to haunt me, even as I wearily stepped out of my tent with a towel over my shoulder, and I went down to the beach, true to my promise to swim with Patricia. I kicked off my shoes, looking anxiously at the clear water as I waited for her. When she finally arrived, walking down the little path, my mouth hung open in surprise.

Patricia's hair was pulled away from her face in a ponytail, and I'd never seen her without her hair down, and without make up on. She had on a bathing suit, and she looked _really _good in it. She grinned at me, laying down her towel on the sand and taking my hand. "Do you want to jump off the dock like a big boy, or do you just want to walk in?" She teased.  
>I wanted to scream, <em>I don't want to go in there at all!<em> But I heard the challenge in her words, and I knew she would never let it go if I said that. "Let's jump," I said instead.

Patricia smiled, dragging me over to the little dock jutting out into the water, with a little speedboat tied up to it. We skirted around the boat and held hands, beginning to count to three, until a short, squat man walked onto the beach, yelling out loud enough so even Patricia and I could hear. We turned, listening as he told us we were going to 'explore the caves' for a good 'educational experience." "Boring!" I groaned, looking at Patricia and shrugging. We walked back slowly, already laughing about the boredom that was to come. But the real thing on my mind, was the voice hissing at me.

"Osirian! Find it, Osirian. Destroy it. Before it is too late."

***************************line******************************************************

I was right. The caves were _really _boring. It was just walls of stone, dripping water and casting odd shadows across the floor. I tried to focus on Patricia as she spoke, telling a story and laughing, everything on her mind but another strange mystery. But I just couldn't, not with the voice continually in my head, hissing at me. And, I wanted to deny it, but the voice seemed to be growing, making it even harder to focus on the real world, the right-now.

I realized Patricia was looking at me, expecting something. I shook my head, pushing the voice away. "What?"  
>"I <em>said,<em> what's up with you, you've been acting really weird lately," she said, stopping and crossing her arms over her leather jacket. She still had her hair pulled back, which I liked.

I swallowed, wanting to scream '_shut up!_' at the voice, but I couldn't, I didn't want Patricia thinking I was yelling at her. "Oh, it's nothing. There's just been a lot going on lately."

"Like what?"

"Just… stuff with my parents, and the whole 'Osirian' thing is pretty new too," I said, lying partially.

Patricia's eyes were still narrowed, but she didn't press. We resumed walking, and after focusing on listening to her for so long, I could hear a bit more from the real world. I smiled at her, liking that I could actually see her face. She caught me, and turned to face me. "What are you smiling at?"

"I like you with your hair pulled back," I admitted. "I can see your face."  
>Patricia smiled back, a bit of a blush creeping onto her cheeks, and I grinned at this too. I pulled her to me, kissing her on the lips, holding her face in my hands. Her hands lay on my chest, and when we pulled apart, she smiled. "What was that for?"<p>

I shrugged. "I just wanted to kiss you."  
>Patricia smirked, taking my hand and winding her fingers in between mine. We walked more down the long, winding caves, and the pressure on my ears came back, hissing the words 'Osirian' and 'find it' over and over. I held back a grimace, fighting the pounding noise in my head. I vaguely noticed we were passing a little pond, because the only thing I could focus on was the crushing pain in my ears. I bit back a scream, squeezing Patricia's hand. I could see her saying something, but I couldn't hear the words, and spots swam in front of my vision.<p>

I vaguely saw a little sparkle, off of the tiny frozen pond. I was going to ignore it as I stumbled forward, but a little flame danced in front of my vision, and I was vaguely aware someone was screaming. I think it might have been me. I stumbled away from the pond, eager to get away from it, and I clawed my way up a little slope, letting go of Patricia's hand. But as I did, the earth seemed to tilt beneath me, and I was sent rolling down the slope.

Straight towards the frozen pond, and the light burning ice.

**Nina POV**

My eyes widened as I followed Fabian's finger, up to the cave ceiling. It could've been a coincidence, the icy stalactite seemingly red in color. It could've been something that was totally normal. It could have… if it didn't have my locket's eye of hours, blinking down at me from the ceiling. I could already hear the voices in my head, coming back, whispering, hissing at me to find it.

I fished out my locket, looking at it in awe as the little red gem glowed in the light, shining straight up at the stalactite, illuminating the copy of the shape. I looked around desperately, as the ceiling was far too high to reach. Fabian was looking at me, waiting for me to give the direction. "Fabian?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can you give me a boost up?"  
>Fabian nodded, and I clambered onto his shoulders, taking off the locket and stretching up towards the sharp stalactite. With a little bump, the locket slid into the perfectly shaped hole, glowing bright red in the process. The stalactite seemed to open up, glowing bright red, and I looked at it in awe.<p>

Right before I was blasted backwards.

**Mwahahaha! What do you think? I love the cliff hangers in this chapter! Hehe. Anyway, review!**

**PS: I may wait a while on the HP fanfic, along with the HOA 100 things. I have a little Hunger Games one in the works! Keep an eye out! Thanks! :D**

**~S~**


	8. Haunting Memories

**So, I have started a Hunger Games story, and I almost forgot this story for a while! :O But, I promise, I will continue! I like this story! So, no need to worry! Review replies:**

**TheNeonSkunk: Haha, yeah! And, as you read this, you do get to see what happened! (Well, with Nina. You'll have to wait a bit longer to see what becomes of Eddie! Hehe.) **

**Nobody Knows But Me: Yeah, I guess it would…**

**Keali: Okay, ask and you shall receive! I'll put a longer bit in for them next Moy chapter! And thanks!**

**JessIsTheBest: Well, thank you! Cliffhangers are just great to write! Hehe.**

**I Will Not Follow: I know! Joy really needed to get over Fabian. And, only I know! Haha, yay! :D**

**Jamber111: Ask and you shall receive! I WILL! :D**

**So, enough chatting, on with the story!**

**Amber POV**

Harry was really cute, I admit, but, I mean, I'm dating Alfie, and I love him! I am not going to flirt.

I.

Am.

Not.

Going.

To.

Flirt.

I smiled, friendly but nothing more, at Harry, pulling Mara over with me to make sure I wouldn't flirt. After a minute of awkwardness, Mara went back over to Jerome, leaving me alone with Harry. I have no idea where Alfie wandered off to.

"So," Harry said. "Are you and that Alfie guy like, an _item _or something?"

_Don't flirt! _I ordered myself. "Yeah, we just got back together," I said, choosing my words carefully and flashing Harry my famous, sparkling, Amber Millington winning smile.  
>Harry grinned half-heartedly back, and I felt kind of bad, but what I had said was true. And I didn't want to hurt Alfie. "Well, he's a lucky guy."<p>

"Yeah… wait, what?" I gasped, my eyes wide and my mouth slightly agape.

"I said he is lucky, having a girl as gorgeous as you," Harry said, looking at me with his smiling blue eyes.

"Well, thanks!" I giggled, playing with my hair.

I realized what I was doing. Dang it, those eyes! I am way too weak.

I gasped. "I'm sorry, I've got to go."  
>I jumped up hurriedly, spilling my food and tripping. Harry caught me, holding my elbow and back to steady me. "Thanks," I breathed. I was about to twist out of his grasp, until a voice made me freeze.<p>

"Amber? Wow. I should have known."  
>"Alfie! It's not what it looks like!" I protested.<p>

"Oh? I think it is exactly what it looks like. You made your choice, Amber. We are over."  
>Then he stalked away, despite my cries.<p>

What had I done?

**Fabian POV**

I sat up, sputtering and peering through the debris around me. I glanced around quickly, panic building in my chest until I finally spotted Nina, crumpled on the floor, several feet away.

Unmoving.

Oh, no. Please, no. Please let her be okay! I rushed over, kneeling by her head. "Nina!" I called out desperately. "Nina, are you okay?"

I picked up her limp hand and felt for her pulse. I sighed a bit as I found it. It was there. Faint, yes, but there nonetheless. "Nina? Can you hear me?" I begged.

She took a rattling, shaky breath after a moment, her chest barely moving, the sound whistling through her teeth.

"Can you open your eyes?" I say.

Nina's face scrunched together slightly in concentration, and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, her eyelids slid open, and I could see her beautiful, blue green eyes once again. I sighed in relief. "You need to stop doing that to me."  
>That got her to crack a smile.<p>

I turned a bit more serious. "Can you talk? What hurts?"

After some struggling, she coked out the words. Or, rather, one word. "Ow," She groaned.

I looked down at her urgently. "What is it?"

In reply, she lifted up her left hand, pointing to her wrist with the other. I frowned, taking her arm, biting my lip as she winced slightly. Then, I gently touched her wrist, and she cried out in pain.

"Shh!" I said, trying to calm her as I released her hand. "Come on, I'll take you to Mr. Sweet."

Nina nodded, and I slowly helped her up. But before we even walked to steps, she stopped me and pointed in awe.

Before us, under where the stalactite had been, was a large hole in the cave floor. "Come on!" Nina said, her voice quiet but excited as she approached the hole.

I stood on the edge, looking down at the seemingly endless abyss. "Down there?" I asked, half-hoping she would say, 'no, to find Sweetie!' But I knew better, especially with Nina.

"Of course!"  
>I sighed, taking her good hand. Here we go.<p>

**Jerome POV**

I grinned as I saw Mara's face light up as a counselor announced the cave-exploring trip. The old man waddled away, and Mara looked up at me, her eyes alight, a smile on her face. Her eyebrow's pulled together in a really cute way as she saw my smirk. "What are you smiling at?"

I smiled down at her. "I just find it funny how much you actually enjoy science and stuff like that."

Mara blushed slightly. "Well, you aren't that bad at science and school related stuff either, Mr. I Never Lose a Chess Game."

I grinned. "Well, that doesn't necessarily mean I _enjoy _school, I'm just naturally good at it."  
>Mara just smiled up at me, shrugging and taking my hand. "Want to be my 'cave buddy'?" She said, laughing at what the short counselor had said.<p>

I laughed lightly. "Sure, cave buddy!"

Mara grinned, eagerly dragging me down the path towards the caves.

I would've been groaning in boredom already if she weren't holding my hand and making my heart doing happy dances.

*****************************************line*********************************

Turns out, the caves weren't all that bad, when I looked at it in retrospect. For starters, I was with Mara, and she loved this, and I couldn't help but be sucked into her smile. Also, the dimly lit caves, though dank and smelly, were kind of romantic, and the slippery stone gave me an excuse to hold her hand. So, no, the caves weren't horrible. We pretty much just walked around, holding hands and talking, occasionally Mara would point to something and spout off some random fact, but it wasn't too bad. It was kind of nice, actually.

I grinned at Mara, helping her down a little slanted piece of rock, and she started talking about stalactites. Her voice drifted off, and she looked at me. "What?" She asked.

"You are just so funny how you know _everything_," I said, causing her to blush.

"I don't know _everything_!" She argued.

I laughed, pulling her to me. "Well, good. You aren't too far out of my league, then."

Mara blushed deeper, and I loved it. "I am not out of your league at all!" She said, incredulous. "If anything, you are out of mine!"  
>I snaked my arms around her waist. "Now, why would you say that?"<br>"You… you just are!" Mara sputtered.

I leaned my forehead against hers. "Mara, you are this beautiful, brilliant, sweet, amazing person, and I've been tricking and lying my entire life. I cracked a safe for crying out loud! I could be a criminal – I'm not – but I could be. You are _way _out of my league."

Mara looked up at me, her doe-eyes wide. "You really think that?"

I nodded slightly.

"It's not true."  
>"It's all true," I said.<p>

"But, you are caring, and funny, and… wait, when did you crack a safe?" She said.

My mouth formed into an 'O'. I had said too much. I cleared my throat nervously. "Oh, it was just…"  
>Mara blinked up at me, her chocolaty eyes wide with interest. "Please?" She begged.<p>

I sighed. "I didn't want to tell you."  
>Mara pulled away slightly. "Why? Tell me, please! Jerome, you can trust me."<br>I sighed. "I know, it's just… okay, you know when I disappeared and missed my dad's hearing?"  
>Mara nodded, not saying a word.<p>

I nervously ran a hand through my hair. "Well, I don't really know how to put this, so I'm just going to say it. So, there's this man, Rufus, and he's the man who kidnapped Patricia last year. And, he…" I cleared my throat. "I walked into the kitchen, and he was there, and he kidnapped me," I heard Mara gasp slightly, but I closed my eyes, locked into retelling the horrifying story. "And he took me to this barn, and just left me there, with only a glass of water. And there was this safe, and I don't know, I just… I wanted to get into it. So I cracked the safe - from a story my dad had told me I knew how to – and my dad's gem was in there. That was how I got it."  
>I breathed deeply, finally cracking open my eyes to glance down at Mara. Her eyes were wide. "Jerome, why didn't you tell me?"<br>I shook my head. "It was in the past, and I didn't want you to worry. It's over now, he's never coming back."  
>"How can you be sure?" Mara asked, fear in her voice.<p>

I smiled slightly, holding her tight. "Well… he went to jail, and he had so many offenses for theft and kidnapping, and he's in jail for life now. It's all going to be fine, I promise," I was only lying about the jail part. In reality, an evil spirit had been sucked into his body and they had been sucked… well, let's just say there is no way they could come back. It sure made me feel a lot safer than if he were just in jail.

But my little safety bubble came crashing down within seconds.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," A voice other than Mara's said. Those seven words sent shivers of utter terror down my spine, made my breathing heavy. I pulled Mara closer to my chest and looked up to see a pair of ice-blue, cold eyes.

**Hmm, this seems like a good place to stop! :) Until next time! Review! ~S~**


	9. Second Chances

** So, my spring break is next week, and we are going on a trip, so I don't know if there will be WiFi, but if I can post, I will. But, just in case I can't, I wanted to let you know for my possible one-week absence… and, I also made an extra-long chapter, not only with Moy, Peddie, Fabina, and the mystery, but also some Jara! :) So, here's the replies:**

**Purple-Tacos-R-Da-Bomb: Thanks for the idea, I already know what I am doing with that _person_, I'm not saying it's Rufus, you'll have to read this chapter to see! Hehe…**

**Raynan: Thanks, and I already have an idea for the stone cold heat, but thanks anyway for the tip!**

**I Will Not Follow: Hehe… read to find out! And please don't hyperventilate, I would not like anyone to die! That would not be good! :D Hope you are still alive and breathing fine!**

**Also thanks to Jamber111, bookbabe68, JessIsTheBest, and TheNeonSkunk! SO, on with the chapter!**

**Mick POV**

With Joy's hand in my own, as we walked together through the caves, I realized something. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time for me to move on, to let Mara go. She had obviously moved on, she didn't have feelings for me anymore, so why should I keep chasing after her, and killing myself over it every time she turned me down? Why keep beating myself up over a girl who didn't love me, because it _wasn't my fault._

Something else hit me. When we got home from this trip, who would I talk to, who would I hang out with? My friends in Australia weren't going to be able to afford to visit, Fabian had barely talked to me since I had arrived, Nina would be in America, along with that Eddie kid, Patricia didn't like me, and I wasn't about to tackle Jerome or Alfie and beg for their attention. Mara was over me, and she might try to hang out, but Jerome would captivate her attention again. And on top of that, I couldn't even go back to Amber, because she was with Alfie. _Alfie_, for crying out loud! My friends had all grown away from me, moved on, forgotten me. No one even talked to me. Well, of course besides…

"Joy!" I blurted.

Joy looked up at me, a bit surprised. "Mhm?"

The words rushed out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Would you fancy going on a date sometime? With me?"  
>Joy's mouth fell open in surprise. "Like… like a real date?"<p>

I release her hand, stepping back to look at her, and shoving my hands deep in my pants pockets. "Yeah?" It came out more like a question than an answer.

Joy broke into a shy grin. "Um, yeah. That sounds really nice!"  
>"Really?" I asked, astonished.<p>

Joy nodded, then glanced around nervously again. "But, can we get out of this place?" She shivered. "Like, now?"

I smiled slightly, taking her hand in my own and turning towards the exit before I broke into an even wider grin.

**Eddie POV**

I clawed at the stone as I slid down the steep slope towards the frozen pool. The spots were impairing my vision, but I could vaguely make out Patricia, standing above me, a confused and concerned look on her face. I opened my mouth to scream in pain from the yelling voices, but I wasn't sure if any sound came out or not. After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the pond.

My tennis-shoe clad feet slipped over the ice, which was as thin as paper. I kicked, breaking through some of the ice and only slightly managing to push my way up onto the rock again. I grasped for something, anything, and suddenly found a hand. I was pulled away from the ice, and was looking into a pair of immensely familiar light eyes.

My breathing slowed some, and for a moment, all was quiet. Even the voices in my head said not a word. Then Patricia sat next to me and broke it all. "Eddie, what's going on? You've been screaming like you were being murdered."  
>My chest heaved, and I knew I had to tell her. I couldn't let her go around thinking I was crazy. Though… maybe I was.<p>

"You know, how we found out the whole 'Osirian' thing?"

She nodded, still waiting for an explanation.

"Well, apparently all spirits have to put curses on the Chosen One and the Osirian or something, because I keep hearing this voice, telling me to stay away from, yet find and destroy the 'light burning ice'. And," I gulped, pointing to the pond. "It must be in there because the closer I get to it, the louder the voice becomes."  
>Patricia looked at me, a bit incredulous, but not entirely unbelieving. "But, how are you going to stay away from this thing yet destroy it?"<p>

I shrugged. "Don't ask me, that spirit is crazy."  
>"Well, how can you be sure it's in that pond?" Patricia asked.<p>

I sighed, looking at the 'cold' water I had broken through. "Only one way for me to find out." I pulled off my shoe and inched forward, dipping my toe through the hole in the ice and instantly flinching, pulling it out to reveal a bright red toe. Patricia gasped. "Yep, that's the right pond," I said, rubbing my toe. "It's super hot."

The ever-curious Patricia reached forward, dipping her finger into the water and pulling it out. "No, it's really cold!"

I sighed. "Well, apparently not to me." I stood, surveying the pond, unsure what to do.

Until I staggered on the slanted rock and fell face-first into the water, and feeling a burning heat that must have been ripping my body into a million pieces.

I wouldn't know.  
>All I knew was, I saw my life flash before my eyes, and I might have died right there.<p>

**Nina POV**

Fabian took my hand. "How are we going to go about getting down there?" He asked.

I surveyed the wide hole. "Hmm. I don't know." Dragging him along with me, I skirted the edges of the hole, but found no ladder, not doorway, nothing.

"Wait," Fabian said, letting go of my hand and stooping down to pick up a piece of rock that must have fallen from the ceiling. He tossed it into the pit, and we waited for what seemed like an eternity until we heard a quiet little clatter as it hit the bottom. "Long way down," He mused.

I sighed. It seemed like I might have hit a dead end. I started to hear the old voices in my head return again. _"Find it, Chosen One! You mustn't fail! Find the stone cold heat! Remember the consequences!"_

Yet I could still thankfully hear Fabian. "Nina, I think we should go back. I don't have a good feeling about this," He said, ever the rational one.

I turned to him, though. "Fabian, I have to find this thing," my chest heaved, but I willed myself not to cry. "Both our lives depend on it."

"Nina, there's no way down there," Fabian replied. "I promise, we'll find this thing, but we just have to look for another way."

I turned to him, jerking in astonishment at what the voice had to say.

"_Jump."_

"What?" I shouted. I bit my tongue, hiding back the 'you're crazy!' part. Fabian already knew, by his expression, that I was talking to the spirit voice.

"_Jump, Chosen One. The stone cold heat awaits your fall. Jump, and I spare the boy's life."_

"I have to jump," I said to Fabian.

"What?" Fabian exclaimed. "No. Nina, please. You'll die. Please, don't do this," He begged.

"I'm sorry," I said. "But I have to. Trust me. And whatever you do, don't follow me."  
>"Nina," He said, shaking his head, but I stopped him by pressing my lips to his.<p>

"Trust me, Fabian. I will be safe. I'll be back in a while, I promise," I whispered, once we had pulled away and Fabian was resting his forehead on mine.

I disentangled myself from him, then fearlessly, took a step forward, greeting the whistling, dark abyss.

**Jerome POV**

I pushed Mara behind me, throwing out my arms to shield her as I stepped back in surprise. I tried to compose myself from the utter dread seeping through my veins, resisting the urge to turn and bolt. He would only catch up to me. How he was here, I knew not. I only knew that after what he went through, if he could still come back, he was certainly more dangerous than ever.

"Rufus," I said, trying to make my words menacing, but my voice cracked slightly. "How?"  
>I could feel Mara's hand on my arm as she peered around me, and I could hear her quick intake of breath when I said the name. <em>Please, stay back! Stay away from him! <em>I mentally begged her. But, of course, she did not know that. Nonetheless, I pushed her backwards slightly with my arm as Rufus laughed his maniac laugh.

"You know not of the real world out there, Jerome. There are horrible things you cannot imagine… but I have conquered all of that, all on my own," He laughed. But then, right before my eyes, his form turned hazy, like a television screen with the fuzz on it. His voice changed, going slightly higher, but just as haunting. The words tumbled out of his mouth, but not in his voice. It was a woman's voice. "Do not lie, lowly servant. I am the reason we are here at all!"

Rufus shook, his eyes rolling back in his head for a moment, before he returned to his normal self. A flash of hatred, fear and embarrassment crossed his face.

Mara tapped my shoulder timidly, her voice shaking. "Jerome, what's going on?"

I took her hand. "I am not entirely sure," I admitted. "But I will get us out of this, I promise." I squeezed her hand as Rufus' attention turned back towards me, and my voice turned acidic. "Why did you even come back at all? I thought what you really wanted was the 'field of rushes' or whatever, just like that Senkhara lady that took over Nina's body. Why come back to the lowly earth?"

My enemy's voice turned back to the woman's. "You dare speak my name?" She hissed.

My mouth popped open wide. "Wait, she's in your body?"

Rufus' voice was normal once more. "Yes, and together, we are going to enter the field of rushes, as you have said, But first, we need something."

I growled. "What, you going to kidnap me again?"

"Oh, no, no, no. We need something entirely larger this time. We have been working for some time for right now, ever since we 'died' actually, and my body was eaten by the flames. We are bringing together the power of opposites, combined into true immortal bodies."  
>I had no idea what he was talking about, and it kind of scared me. He was just talking nonsense right now.<p>

Rufus' evil face turned into a Grinch-like grin. "You, naïve boy. Do you not get it? I am bringing together life and death, ice and flame, solid and gas, naughty and nice. We are bringing together everything that means everything. And I do not need you now. I need more important mortals."

Something clicked in my head, and my eyes widened. I ran a worried hand through my hand. This was not good at all. "No." I said. "No, no, no! You are _mad!_" I said. His plan was crazy, utterly insane. But with a man so crazy as him… what if it worked?  
>Rufus smiled again, giving his usual example. "Very observant. Now where are they?"<p>

I clenched my fist. "Why should I tell you?"

Rufus stepped forward, his ice blue eyes glaring into mine. "I know everything about you, Jerome. I know every trick you can pull and have pulled. And now, with what has happened to me, I am even more powerful."

He was right. I could feel the pure power he radiated, and when he held out his hand, jabbing a finger at me, electricity burned at his fingertips. His form still wavered. He wasn't human. No, he was much more dangerous. So much more dangerous.

"They are somewhere in these caves," I admitted. "I don't know exactly where, but they won't be together, I can assure you that."

Rufus glared at me another moment, then sent a shock through my body. I doubled over in pain, and when I gained the strength to stand back up, he was gone.

Mara looked at me, concern, fear and confusion in her beautiful eyes. "Jerome. Please tell me! What is going on right now?"

I licked my lips. "I… Mara, it's a long story, and I promise I will explain it all to you, but… right now, I think there are people in trouble. Nina and Eddie, and possibly Fabian and Patricia."

"Why did he need them?" Mara begged.

"He has a crazy plan, and I think I know it… but I'll explain on the way. Let's just say… let's pray they have the common sense not to play with fire, and not to get in ice-cold water."

**So, I will try to post ASAP! I hope these cliffhangers aren't too annoying (I bet they are sorta, but I admit, it's funny to see your replies where you are freaking out! Hehe). Till next time! :D ~S~**


	10. Spill Your Secrets

**So, I couldn't resist one more little chapter. I warn you, though. This chapter is short. Like, _super short! _Since the only thing I didn't have in the last chapter was Amfie drama, I thought I'd write a little thing for them. It's only like 500 words, but there is a little challenge! Check the A.N. at the end of the chapter for more!**

**Review replies!**

**MusicCompletesMeTKD: Thank you bunches! :)**

**I Will Not Follow: Haha, aren't Mick and Mara always oblivious? Joy is sometimes too… I would _under no circumstances _jump in a hole… I'm guessing there will be a knew enemy in S3, I just couldn't resist a bit more ghosts, I had this idea from the beginning, it's gonna be great! XD**

**LunaSibuna: Thanks! And I will! Hehe…**

**Also thanks to Keali, Purple-Tacos-R-Da-Bomb, Jamber111, Raynan and FABINA. READ ON!**

**Amber POV**

I sat down dejectedly once Alfie was out of sight, trying not to cry. Harry sat down next to me, silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Amber."

"It's not your fault," I sniffled. "He just came at the wrong time." I tried to be confident he would come back, but he had looked pretty mad…

"He's crazy not to listen to your explanation. Stupid, even. He knew he was losing a girl as beautiful as you."

Despite my dire situation, I felt myself blush, and giggle.

Harry stood, holding out his hand. "Come on; let's take your mind off it."

I obediently stood, awkwardly taking his hand and letting him lead me away, down to the beach. He took me to a spot under the waving trees, patting the white sand next to him, and I sat, still sort of sniffling.

We sat there, just looking at the waves, until I felt the silence growing awkward. I decided to break it. "So, tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" Harry asked, leaning back against the sand casually.

I shrugged. "Uh, I don't know. What's your favorite color?"

"Pink," he answered positively.

I gawked at him. "Are you serious?" he nodded. "Mine too!"  
>Harry laughed, and I felt at ease. I lay back next to him, and we started getting into a steady conversation. I found out a lot about him, and he learned a lot about me. I learned his favorite drink (apple juice), his favorite hobby (singing), what instruments he played (kazoo), his first word (cat), and even, embarrassingly, what his ideal date would be, when the question had slipped out.<p>

"What's your ideal first date?" I asked, much to my horror.

Harry didn't hesitate, his blue eyes trained on me. "Probably going on a double bike ride in the park, watching a Disney movie, like 'Bambi', and just hanging out. What about you?"  
>"Probably a picnic," I answered. Then I blushed, feeling sad, because that had been my first date with Alfie.<p>

We kept talking and laughing a while, opening up to each other as if we had been friends for years instead of for a few hours. I told him about my constant attempts to get Fabina together, and about some pretty embarrassing stuff, and he told me some funny stories. One had made me laugh so hard I almost peed.

After what seemed like hours of this, Harry sat up on his elbows, looking at me. "So, you know how we were talking about dates?"

"Yeah."

"What would you say to going on one with me?"

I gaped at him, gnawing on my lip nervously and giggling. I wanted to, but Alfie…

Harry sighed. "I know all that just happened with that Alfie guy, but you are just making it harder for me by giggling like that." He smiled warmly at me.

I sighed. "Why not? So, where are we going?"

Harry laughed. "How about we take a picnic, since I don't have 'Bambi' here with me…"

I laughed. "That sounds really, nice actually."

But as Harry picked me up off the sand, I found myself thinking about Alfie. Dang it, why are feelings and relationships so complicated?  
>I was starting to feel some sympathy for Fabian and Nina.<p>

**So, I am basing Harry off of a real person. I would like to see if anyone could guess from the info in this chapter and the others who he is based off of. When thinking, keep in mind:**

**~His name**

**~His appearance  
>~He is a flirt, not a jerk, in real life<strong>

**~Fave color= Pink**

**~Fave drink=Apple juice**

**~Hobby = Singing**

**~Plays the Kazoo**

**~First word= cat**

**~Date = riding double bicycle, watching Bambi**

**~Giggling = turn on**

**~*Hint Hint* Check my profile!**

**So, I will be very impressed if anyone knows, if you do put it in a review! Hehe… anyways, sorry for my future absence! Till next time! Review! ~S~**


	11. Voices in the Wind

**Yay! So, obviously, the place I'm staying at has WiFi! Hehe! Sorry it took me a while to update though, I obviously didn't want to spend every waking moment writing with a beach ten feet from my door, so… yeah. ANYWAY, a lot of you guessed the right answer to who Harry was based off of, the answer was Harry Styles. I had _four _people who knew the right answer: BananaBubbles98, RandomReviewer3's1direction, Jamber 111 and yep. :) Review replies:**

**BananaBubbles98, RandomReviewer3's1direction, Jamber 111 and yep: Thanks, and congratulations! You are correct; it is Harry Styles, because I was having a 1D obsessive moment when I wrote the first chapter, as well as Chapter 10…**

**LunaSibuna: Um… okay, that's a bit weird! And I'm kinda flattered you dreamt about my story! :D Thanks!**

**Okay, on with the story!**

**Eddie POV**

I opened my eyes to find a completely different scene unfolding than I had been expecting. Instead of the ice blue colored water, burning my skin, I found deep green waves, splashing my face and making me shiver. I looked down, confused, as I saw the purple and pink boogie board I was sitting on. I groaned at the memory.

From years of living with my mom, grandma and sister, I had grown up surrounded by pink, frilly things, Barbie dolls and make-up. So when we had taken a trip to the beach and I had begged my mom for a boogie board, of course I had gotten the purple and pink one. I am pretty sure I caught a record of two waves the entire trip. Why I seemed to be there again, though, I could not place.

Hadn't I just been in a cave with Patricia, by a little pool, talking about voices? Hadn't I just stood up and began falling into the burning hot, clear pond? Why on earth was I inexplicably back in America, in the ocean, on a boogie board I hadn't seen since I had thrown it out five years before? I blinked, even trying slapping myself, but I couldn't shake myself away from the teal waves.

I looked around frantically, my eyes darting across the water, but I saw no one, only the vast ocean and stormy grey sky. I searched the depths of my mind, begging for anything to tell me what was going on. "Why did you bring me here?" I demanded the disembodied voice, sure it was behind this mysterious experience.

The voice did not answer, and I sighed, laying down on the girly board and paddling out into the waves, farther out, I assume, because I could not seem to locate the shore. Soon, a flaming-haired girl appeared before me, floating in the deep ocean water without a struggle to stay above the lapping waves. I drifted nearer to her, unusually drawn to her, and stared into her piercing blue eyes. Something about them stirred my memory, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled hauntingly at me. "So, you have seen through the mist, you still realize what the present is. You truly are the Osirian," She crossed her pale white arms over her chest.

I frowned. "Um, yes? Why am I here?"

The girl looked up at the cloudy sky, the wind whipping her red hair around her face. "If you are the Osirian, and you truly want what you came for, drag yourself out of this fog. Pull yourself away from it, Osirian, go back to the real world, only if you dare. Enter the world of danger with caution, and go."

She began to fade into the mist, but I called out. "Wait, what does that mean?" I demanded. But I received no answer. The girl was gone, and the waves surrounding me were becoming hazy at the edges.

The girl's voice echoed in my mind, almost haunting. _Go to the real world if you dare. Enter the world of danger with caution, go. Pull yourself away, out of this fog._

I followed the voice, like a string, dragging myself closer to reality. The cold water moved to the back of my mind, replaced by a searing pain, starting at my fingertips and beginning to creep closer towards my heart. I surrounded me, I felt pressure in my ears, and the cold wind began to fade. I opened my eyes, feeling the slicing heat of water and fire against them, if it even seemed possible.

I tried desperately to move, to break the invisible bonds tightening around my body. My eyes were the only thing I seemed to still have control over. They flitted across the dimly lit space of the underwater pond, searching for something. I couldn't figure out exactly what I was looking for, but the voice was still there in my head, the words still piercing my brain, urging me forward.

_The light burning ice. Find the light burning ice! Feel it in your bones, Osirian. Find it, take it, keep it safe._

Some part of my subconscious mind wondered _why _I was looking for this, but the voice was overwhelming, it was all I could think about. I had to find the light burning ice, no matter what.

Before I knew it, I was somehow moving, my legs and arms propelling me forward with jerky, robot-like actions. My eyes somehow penetrated the murky water, and I saw something glint. My heart rate grew rapid inside my still chest as the blurry image grew clearer, and the voice grew louder, urging me on, almost cheering now. I made out the figure of some sort of flicker of light, until I blinked and the image disappeared. I reached my hand blindly forward, grasping something that shouldn't be tangible, but somehow was.

I cradled the unknown, unseen object in my palm, ignoring the white-hot heat searing across my hands. The voice in my head was triumphant, and as I felt my body, still on auto-pilot, drift towards the surface, I knew, this was it.

I had finally found the elusive light burning ice.

**Nina POV**

The fall into darkness was somehow… weightless. I could only feel a slight wind whipping at my hair and clothes, but nothing else. I waited for the crashing pain to come, for my body to go numb, then into searing pain as I hit the bottom of the abyss, but it never seemed to come. I was just there, in nothingness, floating, absorbed in a blanket of shadows, and a pounding drum of voices, screaming at me to find the stone cold heat, but I felt no closer to it than I had when I had been above, still in the cave, with solid rock beneath me.

I had seen the pain on Fabian's face before I had jumped, and it killed me, but somehow, I knew I was safe. I just needed to find that stone cold heat, I could not let him be hurt, ever. I needed him to be safe. And anyway, why would the voice lie to me? It obviously needed me to find this 'stone cold heat' for it, though I knew not what use it could have for it.

For some obscure reason, I was sucked into an old memory, one I used to think of and cry myself to sleep at night with. I didn't want to have to relive it, and I tried to fight it off, but the warm summer air enveloped my body anyway, haunting me as always.

The night was humid and hot, the stars desperately trying to peek through the cover of clouds. I looked around desperately, searching for the smiling faces of my parents, but the dream seemed to start longer in this time. They were already gone, off to their car.

"We'll be right back, Nina!" They had chirped. "We are only going to go pick up your Gran, she's right down the street!"

But they never made it to pick up Gran. They barely made it halfway down the street. I stiffened from where I sat on our porch, under the night sky, flinching and waiting for the terrible sounds I knew came next. The sickening squeal of tires on gravel, desperately trying to maintain control on the road. The crash of glass and screams of my parents and the passengers of the other car. The car alarms blaring, frantic crying and pounding feet, and eventually the police sirens wailing, coming to check out the scene of what they called an 'accident'. It was more like a tragedy. My parents had always told me to stay home, stay at the house, when I was alone, so that was what I did. I waited for an entire hour until I heard the doorbell echoing through the house.

I had trudged inside, fear gripping at my eleven-year-old chest as I flung open the door, knowing something was wrong. Before me had stood a police office and a tear-stained Gran. Ever since I had lived with my Gran, and we had fought our battles together.

I stood, gulping as I fingered the chipping wood of our deck and waited for the horrific sounds of my parents' last moments, but they never came. I turned around at last, realizing the truth. I wasn't reliving their last moments at all. Why was I here in the first place? Where had I been before I came here?

_Fabian._

The name floated into my mind out of no where, sending a shiver of pleasure down my back as always, but it was interlaced with something else.

Fear.

Pain.

Uncertainty.

I had just jumped into the dark abyss, trying to find the stone cold heat. _Why was I here? _"What am I doing here?" I demanded out loud. Where was the dang voice when I needed it?

"You tell me, Chosen One," A different voice said somberly.

I swung around to face a boy who looked my age, but when I looked into his deep, impenetrable black eyes, I could see the pressure of many years, many burdens there. He stood a bit taller than me, with dirty blonde hair that – under the foggy night sky – looked to be flecked with grey.

"I don't know!" I said. "I was just in the abyss looking for the stone cold heat (whatever it is) And then I appeared here!" I looked back at the familiar house, happily lit up for Easter, and sighed, then tried to shake myself out of it. "This is just a memory, isn't it?"  
>The boy nodded, a cryptic look in his dark eyes. His irises were the exact same color as his pupils, I noticed. "Why did you bring your<em>self <em>here, Chosen One? If you can truly decipher the difference between dark memories and a dark future, why are you here? Why have the depths of your fears brought you to this moment in time?"

I gulped, reliving their screams in my head like I used to every single night. "How do I get out of here?" I choked out, gasping for breath, feeling claustrophobic and suffocated in the muggy night air, cloying at me, stroking at me, laughing at me. The night smelled suspiciously like honeysuckle, from the plants my mom and I had planted the summer before her death. Now the scent was mocking, far too happy for the depressing mood, the trauma of the night. I blinked at the boy, begging for a way out of this.

"You are in a memory, lost in time, Chosen One. If you wish to seek the ultimate danger and risk of the powerful stone cold heat, if you are willing to jeopardize your life for this, then only you have the power to go back. If what you fell for is what you truly seek, come away from these fears, and go on. You are only in a dream-land, a false sense of security."  
>Among all the words he had just spoken, the last one tugged at me, making anger flare in my chest. "<em>Security<em>?" I spat. "Nothing about this place is _secure_, not anymore, at least."

"Trust me, Chosen One. This land is far more secure than the one you seek. Are you willing to embrace those perils?" He said, his voice as strict and rushed as ever.

I laughed bitterly, without humor. "If anyone knows about true danger, it is me. So how do I get out, and enough with the evasive answers."

"You only have the power. You must drag yourself out of this pity-party, take yourself back to the future, where you feel you just were. Go back, and find the stone cold heat, if it is what you truly desire."

The boy then faded into the darkness, against the lightly blinking stars. "Wait, what?" I shouted at the summer air, but he was gone. His words echoed around the large yard.

_Go back, and find the stone cold heat, if it is what you truly desire._

It wasn't exactly what I desired, but I had to get it, and if anything I wanted away from this horrid night. I squeezed my eyes tight, letting the smell of the honeysuckle drift away, along with the warm breeze. They were replaced by the smell of dank, moldy rock and a cold _whoosh _of air. I blinked, in an even darker area.

I was in a pitch black pit, though how I landed from the fall without breaking every single bone in my body, I don't know. How could this be were the stone cold heat was? I didn't see or feel anything, and the voice was silent. But there was a feeling of electricity in the air, and it rooted me to the spot, as I saw a small, dim light, glowing brighter from ahead. I was still as a statue, unsure whether I should stay frozen or move towards it.

_Go, Chosen One! Go towards it, get it! Or forfeit your life._

The words were in my head, the disembodied voice was back. But the words it spoke sent shivers of fear and recognition through my body. I began to tremble.

_Or forfeit your life._

Where had I heard that before?  
>Then the answer came to me, and I froze in fear and disbelief.<p>

Senkhara._  
><em>

**So, a longer chapter! Yay! I know, I know, I didn't put in Moy, or Jara, or even Amfie, but I just wanted to get this chapter up, because it has been a while. I will try to post again soon, I promise! :D ~S~**_  
><em>


	12. Bipolar

**I know, I know. Please don't kill me for the late update, but, to be honest, I had terrible writer's block, and I'm losing interest in this story. :( Sorry, but it always happens to me. But, I am sucking it up for those who keep saying they love it. Thanks, because that is what keeps me writing! Now, to reply to my wonderful reviewers!**

**Purple-Tacos-R-Da-Bomb: Thanks!**

**Horsegirl275: You got the guess right on Harry! And thanks, sorry for the late update! Hope you didn't faint! :D**

**LunaSibuna: Thanks, and no, it isn't that weird at all, now that you explained it… haha. And thanks, and the beach was great! :D**

**Ginny weasley: I know, I am super bummed about it too! I don't know what the show will be like without her! And thanks!**

**Jellybean96: Thank you! :D**

**So, again, sorry for the late update, and now I will stop rambling and let you actually read the chapter!**

**Amber**

Harry set up a really nice picnic, and the sun was setting as we were eating, with the last rays of golden light shimmering on the waves, it was really romantic. The crickets started singing, and Harry and I talked, just hanging out. But after a while, we suddenly ran out of things to talk about. It seemed like we had absolutely nothing in common. Sure, his favorite color was pink, and he was romantic and sweet, and could _sing _for crying out loud. It seemed he had everything I'd ever asked for in a guy. Except… that's were the things I liked about him ran out. He seemed a bit too… I don't know, bipolar. At times, he'd be super serious, and others crack out the most random joke, and I was laughing my butt off. But he just wasn't very consistent with who he was. I needed someone I knew would always be there, and Harry… well, he seemed a bit _flighty._

Sometime in the date, Harry leaned towards me, his lips slightly parted and he approached me to press lips to mine. I hesitated as our lips brushed against each other, and leaned back, biting my lip. My feelings were so mixed up right now; I had no idea who I loved. For a while, I had thought I had been falling for Harry, that I had moved on from the phase in my life when I had loved Alfie. But now, only centimeters from kissing Harry, I just wasn't sure. Harry opened his eyes and arched an eyebrow at me. I had never felt so nervous around guys. I had always thought of myself as this bubbly, care free girl. But I had no idea what was going on right now.

"I-I'm sorry," I said, looking away from Harry's hypnotizing blue eyes. "I… I don't know if I'm ready."

Harry pulled back, his expression turning a bit stony, which kind of surprised me. Why should he be mad? I mean, he was there when Alfie dumped me, only hours ago, and he was pretty much the _reason_ Alfie dumped me. If anyone had a right to be mad, here, it was definitely me! Harry's expression was so dark, so closed-off, it scared me a little bit. So, without any more words needed to define what was going on right now, I jumped up, stumbling a little over the picnic basket. I ran across the beach, towards the woods. I didn't care how long it took to find Alfie, I had to talk to him. I just had to. The tears slowly cascaded down my cheeks, dripping off my chin, and I wiped them away before anyone could see. My make up was probably messed up, but as I approached Alfie's tent, I didn't care. I could only hope seeing it would clean up the mess that was my feelings, and that he wasn't in the caves like everyone else.

I stood outside Alfie's tent, listening. I didn't hear anything, but that didn't necessarily mean he wasn't in there. I hesitated, unsure how to 'knock' since it was just a flimsy cloth with poles to hold it up. So I cleared my throat and spoke, my voice cracking just a little bit. "Alfie?"

There was a rustling from inside the tent, and a familiar, normally smiling, face popped out. But now, Alfie wasn't smiling. His face was hard and cold, similar to what Harry's expression had been moments before my quick departure. Alfie caught my eye, noting that my eyes where red and puffy, my face probably swollen. "What do you want, Amber? Your new boyfriend break your heart already, so you come crawling back to me?"

A sob escaped my chest. "Alfie… he's not my boyfriend, and never was! He was just a friend. That whole scene… it wasn't what it looked like!" I practically begged.

Alfie raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh? Then what was it, Miss Perfect?" He said. I could tell by his tone he was not happy, and was being totally sarcastic.

I gulped. "Alfie… I admit. I flirted with Harry. But when you came into the clearing, I was standing, and I tripped and Harry caught me. I promise, it was nothing!"

Alfie pursed his lips, contemplating it. "How can I be sure? How can I know you aren't just messing with me right now, toying with my feelings even more?"

My chest heaved. "You can't. But you can trust me! I love you, Alfie. It took me _way _to long to realize it, but… I love you! Please, could you give me a second chance?" I had never been that needy girlfriend. But… for once I could see their point of view. I wanted to be with Alfie. I wanted to be able to call him mine again.

My lower lip quivered as Alfie opened his mouth. "Amber…"

**Joy POV**

My heart seemed to be bursting with excitement. I couldn't believe I was actually going on a date with _Mick_. In hindsight, if he had asked me only months before, I would have politely refused and gone back to drooling over Fabian, plotting to get him to pick me over Nina. And I'm sure Mick probably would have done the same, except go back to flirting with Mara – not Fabian. And, yeah. Somehow, ever since we'd come to this campsite and found that Mick and I were both lonely, I had felt like I was falling for him – and fast. I couldn't explain it, but we just understood each other. Even so, I hadn't felt like Mick had liked me back. I would have never believed he would have asked me out. But, somehow, he did! And I couldn't be happier.

**Mara POV**

I had no idea what was going on, and truthfully, Jerome wasn't really clearing things up at all with his vague explanations. I thought back to what had happened only moments before as Jerome led me through the maze of halls in the cave. Rufus – the very man whom had _kidnapped _Jerome – seemingly had had two different personalities, each with their own voice and everything. That I could take. So, what. He was bipolar. But the way his form had turned hazy, I couldn't. And all the odd talk about Nina being possessed, and 'coming back to earth', among other things. And then Jerome saying this 'Senkhara' was in Rufus' body, and opposites uniting to form an immortal body.

I clung to Jerome's arm as he led me through the halls, calm yet determined. My voice wavered as I spoke. "Jerome… all that talk about Rufus forming an… immortal body… that can't happen, can it?"

Jerome looked down at me as if realizing I was still there. "I don't know, Mara. But with Rufus involved, it might as well be, and we have to prevent it from happening."

"But… how is he planning on hurting Nina and Eddie and making that body?" I said, shivering at the words.

"That, I don't know," Jerome sighed, running a fist through his carefully styled caramel locks. "All I know is, we can't let him hurt them." Jerome started running through the halls again, and I had to practically sprint to keep up. Finally, we turned a corner, and a familiar person loomed into view.

Fabian was looking down what looked like a hole straight to the center of the earth, calling out desperately. "Nina!" He yelled, worry permeating his voice. "_NINA?" _he screamed. Then his chest heaved, and he screamed as if he were being tortured. He still hadn't realized Jerome and I were there.

Fabian cried out, his voice quiet at first, but gradually growing louder and more worried. "No. No, no, no. No!" He cried, tearing at his hair and kicking a rock on the cave floor. He began to pace the length of the hole, and I was so intrigued and worried by his behavior, I didn't even realize when Jerome left my side.

Jerome walked up to Fabian, silent as a mouse, and put a gangly hand on his shoulder. Fabian swung around, startled by Jerome's sudden appearance.

"Fabian, what's wrong?" Jerome said. His eyes widened as Fabian didn't speak, and his gaze strayed to the gaping hole in the earth. He shook Fabian. "She didn't go down there, did she?"

Fabian gulped, then nodded slowly. I squeaked. Nina fell in the hole? Was she okay?

Jerome came to the holes edge with two large steps, and gazed down the abyss. I felt the urge to go grab him and pull him back. If Nina had already fallen, she was gone. And I couldn't lose Jerome too. But soon Jerome retreated and glanced back at Fabian. "How could you let her jump?" Wait, what? _Jump_? Why on earth would Nina jump into a hole that deep? Even from here, I could see the dark shadows waiting below. Was she freaking suicidal!

Fabian's eyes widened with guilt and remorse. "You think I wanted her to jump?" He said, his chest heaving with dry sobs. "Do you think I just let her go down there without question? I begged her to stay, but she insisted she jump! I couldn't stop her!"

Jerome stopped, a spark of compassion showing through his impenetrable blue eyes. "Why did she want to jump, Fabian? You need to tell me."

Fabian gulped, but opened his mouth as if to tell the truth. He sighed. "Yet another spirit or something kept telling her to find this… this _thing. _And she doesn't even know what it is or what it looks like, but for some reason, she thought it was down there, so she just…" A sob escaped his lips. "She just… _jumped_."

"Fabian, why would you let her?" Jerome roared. That wasn't the question echoing in my mind. It wasn't even one of the _many _questions in my mind. But one thing that struck me as odd… yet _another _spirit? These things had happened before?

Fabian stepped back in shock, away from Jerome's wave of fury. "The spirit… it was going to kill her if she didn't find it. And trust me, I told her not to jump, but she ignored me. And…"

Jerome cut him off. "Gosh, Fabian. You are too _clueless! _Don't you get it? Does none of this ring a bell? A spirit, wanting Nina to find something, and threatening her with death if she doesn't. And does it not seem odd to you this spirit wouldn't show their face? Why would they do that unless they didn't want to be recognized?"

Fabian's face turned into a mask of horror. "You… you mean, it's _Senkhara_?"

Jerome sighed. "And Rufus."

"_WHAT?"_

"Somehow, Rufus and Senkhara are here. They aren't living, and they aren't really ghosts. Somehow, they are in the limbo in between. Senkhara is living inside Rufus' body, somehow, even though he isn't even in it. They have been working together, and it's hard to explain, but if Nina finds this thing, and Eddie finds what he's looking for, you can bet they're both dead, and Senkhara and Rufus are going to live forever."

I shivered. This was in no way making sense.

Just as Fabian opened his mouth to reply, with wide eyes, a scream echoed from beneath us, shaking the very foundation of the caves.

Fabian, Jerome and I spoke at once, fear clutching our chests. We gasped simultaneously. "Nina."

**Mwahaha! Nothing like a good cliffhanger to put me back in the mood to write this! :D So, what did you guys think? I'm going to try to get back into writing this and updating often, but… like I said… I'm kind of losing interest… Anyway. Review! :D ~S~**


	13. Impossible

**Thanks to everyone for all the great reviews, they made me so happy! So I am going to reply to all of my wonderful reviewers! :D**

**Purple-Tacos-R-Da-Bomb: Thanks, I just always start getting bored with the storyline and run into writer's block. :D**

**Jamber111: Thanks so much! So, I had a burst of inspiration and decided _not _to make you wait too long!**

**Yep: Thanks, I try to make it like the show as much as possible! :D**

**PATRICIA'S POV: Thanks, I didn't think about that! I sort of forgot about her! I just find Patricia's POV kind of hard to write, but since you asked, you shall receive! I am sucking it up and listening to P!nk to get in the mood. (For some reason P!nk puts me in the mood to write Patrcia…)**

**Jellybean96: Thanks!**

**Thoselittlefangirlmoments: :D haha, I love the 'amazing to the point of amazingness'! Haha, it makes enough sense, and thanks! Love the pen-name too! :D**

**LunaSibuna: Haha, thank you! Sorry they aggravate you, but I just love writing 'cliffies!' :D**

**Attfdyfgy: I am continuing, obviously, but it's almost over! And yes, I do watch Glee! It's the bomb!**

**Patricia POV**

I squeaked a little, trying to catch Eddie as he teetered forward, but my hand slipped off of his elbow as he lurched forward, his face and body smashing onto the still frozen pond. The crack was sickening as a line appeared along the ice, and it broke apart, forming a hole, just big enough for Eddie to fall through. And he did.

I jumped up, ready to catch his hand and help him when he came up, sputtering, but he never did. I looked down, incredulous, at the rippling blue water, looking for Eddie, I finally spotted him, floating under the surface of the water, arms flailing limply, his face contorted in pain. His eyes were closed, and for a frightening moment, I worried he was dead. "Eddie!" I screamed, desperately reaching forward to somehow grab him and pull him out of the water. But as my hand approached the water, a shock went through my body, and I staggered back.

I approached again twice, desperately trying to get my hand into the water and grab Eddie, but it didn't seem possible. I tried ignoring the searing pain and electric sparks coursing through my body, but I could never get in the water past my fingertips without being taken over by the pain and jerking back, clutching my hand and panting.

I was helpless to help Eddie, and it killed me. I looked around desperately, searching for a way to grab him and save him, but I had nothing.

A sob scratched across my throat, echoing in the halls. My chest heaved, and I sat down, my toes inches from the water, and put my head in my hands. I could still see Eddie in my current position, but I still didn't know what to do. So I shifted to where he wasn't visible.

A quiet voice alerted me, and I jumped up, my heart pounded. "Eddie?" I said, hopeful. But when I looked up, my heart sunk. I saw Jerome standing there, one eyebrow raised expectantly, with Mara behind him. "What do you want, weasel?" I said, but it was half-hearted, and I couldn't focus on putting the malice into it that I normally did.

Jerome sat by me, for once not replying to me. "What happened, Trixie? Where's Eddie?"

I sobbed, looking up at him. "Why should I tell you?" I snapped.

Jerome looked at me. "Because it's urgent," He looked at the pond and groaned. "He didn't go in there, did he?"

My chest heaved, and I nodded.

Jerome sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "The stupid _git_!"

I glared at him. "How dare you! He's not stupid!" I hissed. Sure, the words weren't that cutting, but I could tell the way I'd said it scared him. I smiled slightly at that.

Jerome frowned. "Sorry, but he shouldn't have gone in there. There's been a spirit talking to him, right?"

My eyebrows scrunched together, and I nodded. How did he know?

Jerome sighed. "Trixie, this is hard to explain, but somehow Rufus is back, along with Senkhara. They are the ones talking to Eddie, forcing him to find… whatever he's looking for."

I jumped up, just the mention of those names sending giant ripples of utter terror down my spine. "What?" I screeched. "How do we get him? How do we save him?" I demanded.

Jerome looked down at the pond, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know."

"What? How can you not know? You have to, I have no idea! Why would you tell me that if there's nothing I can do?"

"You just had to know," Jerome said. "Because when he comes out of that pond, it probably won't be a pretty sight."

**Nina POV**

No. No, it couldn't be Senkhara. There was no possible way. She had been sucked into Rufus' body and together they had gone to the underworld, into chains, and pain and fire. There was no way she could be still – well, not alive, but here on earth. It couldn't be her. But still, even as I told myself this, her words echoed in my mind, both from the first time she'd told me, and the many times after that.

…_Or forfeit your life._

She was here, and now that I thought of it, I felt stupid for not realizing it. The voice… it had chilled me so much whenever it spoke, just like whenever I had whirled around and seen her standing there, made up of only thoughts and shadows, haunting and watching my every move. It was always the same shiver of fear.

I contemplated the few options I had. Why did Senkhara want the stone cold heat? What would she do with it? What was my part in it? I could of course refuse to get the thing and give it to Senkhara, which would be the most obvious choice. But… it wouldn't just cost me my life, it would also cost Fabian's. And if my part had anything to do with Eddie's, it would cost him his life too, even if he got the light frozen ice or whatever for her and did his part.

My lip quivered, and I jumped as the voice came back to me, more urgent and forceful this time.

_What are you waiting for, Chosen One? This is what you came for, what you seek! Grab the stone cold heat, restore yourself and the boy to a peaceful life!_

_Of course_. I thought, the haunting voice of the returned Senkhara making my brain go dead. I don't want Fabian to be hurt. I can't let him get hurt, this will save my life.

Somehow, I started to approach the stone cold heat, and when I looked down, I realized I was walking, though I hadn't truly noticed. I could feel the growing electricity in the air, making the hair on my arms and the back of my neck raise, anticipating something. My fingers raised into the air and hovered above the little ray of light. The shadows in the cave hid it slightly from view, but I could tell with the energy coursing through my body that this was it, this was what I was looking for. My fingers were inches from the object, I was seconds from closing my hand around it, when I snapped back into reality and out of my trance and pulled my hand back, shaking my head.

No, I couldn't take it. I had to think about this. I weighed my options, getting lost into my thoughts, and when I looked up, my fingers were millimeters from the object again. My eyes widened, and I tried to pull back my hand, but I was too late in my realization, and the spell Senkhara seemed to have put on my mind was too strong.

My hand closed around the little thing. It had little thorn-like-things all over it, pricking my palm, but when I tried to pry my fingers away from it, they seemed glued. I could do nothing to get my hand off of it. The thing was colder than ice, a million degrees below freezing. Or, at least I think so. If it was cold, it was so cold, it felt almost hot. I cried out, and the voice in my mind – Senkhara's voice – was triumphant.

_Silly girl! _She taunted me. _You thought you could rid yourself of me, but were you ever wrong!_ I cried out again, but she continued. _You are going to take that, and you are going to do my bidding._

Spots hovered in front of me, impairing my vision, but in between them, I could see a hologram-like picture of Fabian there.

_Do my bidding, or watch the boy suffer!_

Senkhara said. I still couldn't see her, but I saw a little burst of sparks, and I knew she was showing me she was still powerful.

I looked at Fabian's wavering form, and tears welled in my eyes. So I really had no chance. I closed my eyes with one more fleeting thought of my own.

_I love you, Fabian. Forgive me._

Then I felt the power of Senkhara pressing in against my mind, and I opened the imaginary gates and let her take control of me once more, no matter how I hated the feeling.

**Eddie POV**

Even though I knew this journey should be over when I had the light burning ice, when I had it firmly enclosed in my fist, I couldn't help but think that the entire nightmare was not over. I mean, I had no way to know of course, because the stupid spirit hadn't given me any details besides "find the light burning ice!", but there was just a sickening feeling in my gut, warning me, shaking its imaginary head in sadness and disappointment. I knew something, somewhere, had gone wrong, but where? I was here, I had the light burning ice clutched in my right hand, this entire epidemic would be over, so why was I feeling so scared. What had gone wrong?

A wavering form materialized in front of me, and for a random moment, I thought it was Patricia, even though it looked nothing like her. Maybe it was just the hope in my chest making me think that, though.

The figure approached, and I felt my eyebrows scrunch together in confusion as I took in the sandy blonde hair with streaks of grey, the aged but determined piercing blue eyes. What was Uncle Crazy- er- Rufus doing here? Hadn't he been sucked down… well, I couldn't really explain what happened that night, but I was pretty sure he had died the night I found out I was the Osirian. So how was he here right now? Was it a figment of my imagination? Oh, gosh. I'm going crazy. I'm going to have to go to an asylum, first I was hearing voices, know I'm seeing mirages.

I shook my head as quickly as the water would allow, trying to see through to the truth, and then it hit me. Rufus really was here. Somehow, I spoke to him.

_Rufus? How are you here?_

Rufus laughed. _Foolish boy. I am the one who led you to this point. I am the whole entire reason you are where you are right now._

_Wait, what? You made me get this… this thing? _I said, looking at the airy substance grasped in my hand. _But… why?_

_You naïve boy. Just come with me, and all will become clear quite soon._

Those words took over my mind, and I had no choice but to comply.

**Sorry, I know. There's cliffhangers, and it's a late chapter. But, it's up! And, sadly, this story is almost coming to a close! 3 chapters left, max. :D Review! ~S~**


	14. Perfect

**Everyone, I am SO SUPER DUPER SORRY! I don't have a real excuse for why it took me TWO FREAKING MONTHS to update, and I am SO SORRY! Honestly, I lost complete interest in this story. Like, all interest in it. But I couldn't bear to let it go unfinished, even if this chapter is two months late. So, I had to post this. This is the last chapter of this story, and again I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy it! :D Also, I will be posting a new story as soon as possible. It won't be very long, but the wonderful justkeeptyping gave me the idea, and I owe the story to her for her winning my Jara contest! :D So, that should be up soon! Again…**

**I AM SO SORRY! D:**

**But anyway, please enjoy the last chapter!**

**Nina POV**

I could barely feel myself. It felt as if my true soul was huddled in a little shell in the corner of my being, avoiding the raw power that Senkhara radiated. I remembered the feeling of her being in my body much more than I liked, and just like last time, it made me feel dirty, useless, just a kind of garment covering something so much more powerful. Whenever Senkhara's soul was in my own body, connected to me like this, it was like I could see _her_, see her very being. Her soul was a tiny thing, really. It was weak, and depressed, but it was swollen with pride and false-happiness out of power. It radiated pure darkness, and all the power she gave off seemed to really just be coming from her arrogance, how much she _thought _she was so powerful, so it made her that way. It was an old thing, if it were tangible it would probably be cracked and beaten up, rough and wrinkly. After thousands of years of roaming the earth bodiless, it actually seemed to be in good condition, from the little I knew about souls. Maybe those Egyptians had known what they had been doing with mummification.

I tried my hardest to hold on to a little sliver of myself, to not let my own soul get covered up by Senkhara's ego like last time. I tried to keep some control over my body, and with that effort, I was able to see where Senkhara was leading my body. I was led through a labyrinth of tunnels, under thousands of miles of rock. My body seemed to be radiating a sort of dark cloud, but I couldn't even focus on that, it was taking all of my willpower to focus on where Senkhara was taking me.

I was finally led to a little cavern, which was lit up from some unknown source. Senkhara waited in the center of the room until a little light appeared at the end of the opposite tunnel. As I watched, I saw two forms approaching, both utterly familiar, one wavering, and one humanly solid. I forced my being to look harder through my own eyes, mentally forcing Senkhara's soul over as I peered closer at the figures, which alone – and definitely together – made absolutely no sense. If I had had enough control over my body, I might have spoken aloud, voicing my confusion, but Senkhara's soul was still overpowering my own, so the words I wanted to shriek were confined to my mind.

_Rufus? Eddie? What's going on here?_

But of course, none of them could hear my thoughts, so they didn't answer my questions, only advanced closer. Eddie seemed to be in a type of trance, his usually giddy, bright eyes dull and unfocused. He had his fist closed around something, and it was radiating a soft light through his fingers. Had he in fact found what he'd been looking for too?

I fought the fatigue my soul was showing, trying to keep focused on the scene unfolding before me.

Rufus smirked at me – or Senkhara in my body – taking in the object in my hand. "Perfect. You have it?"

Senkhara spoke through my mouth, making me feel even more dirty as she spat at him. "Of course, fool. You have yours, I presume?"

Rufus' expression grew a bit stale, and he gestured to Eddie. "Of course. Now, is it all ready?"

I felt my soul rattling around as Senkhara bobbed her – my – head up and down. She forced my body towards Eddie's, and Eddie walked towards me in a trance-like state. He raised his hand with the object clasped in it, as if there were a voice in his head ordering him to do these things. And after all that had been going on, I didn't necessarily doubt it.

Senkhara urged my body forward, raising my hand with the painful stone cold heat still nestled tightly in my palm. She pushed me towards Eddie, to where we were almost touching, and I vaguely noticed there was a hole in the rock above us, and some kind of ornate carvings on the walls around us, but Senkhara's soul was getting even more powerful the closer I brought my hand to Eddie's. My body seemed to scream in protest, as if the objects Eddie and I held repelled each other, but Senkhara forced my hand forward with surprising strength. I almost imagined a slight squeak of my own escape my mouth as my hand and the object in it were forced against Eddies', and Senkhara's soul was ripped out of my body.

**Eddie POV**

I don't know what had gotten into me. I would normally never listen to Rufus, after all, I barely knew him and I still knew he was insane. But I had to figure out what was going on – and even more important, I had to get this thing out of my hand. It was like it bound my hand to it, but I really just wanted to drop it, let it fall to the ground, because the heat searing across my palm was utterly unbearable. But Uncle Crazy here must have done something, because I didn't seem to have any control over my mind. I was forced to swim through the thickening water, and suddenly – somehow – I was walking through a tunnel in the caves, completely dry, it seemed. Rufus had a tight grip on my wrist, even though through the sliver of vision I could retain his figure seemed to waver.

Rufus dragged me through the halls into what seemed like a giant cavern, and in the center of the room stood… Nina?

Nina had a dark cloud surrounding her body, an evil glint in her eyes. I knew this look too well.

Senkhara.

None of what was going on made any sense at the moment, but Rufus was still forcing me to walk forward. I wanted to stop and protest, to pull back and scream out my questions about what was going on, but my mouth wouldn't move at my brain's command. Rufus was in utter control of me.

I continued to walk forward, meeting Nina in the perfect center of the cavern. Both of us in seemingly trance-like states, we raised our hands in which the objects were clasped. I could feel the power radiating from Nina's hand, and my own. I wanted to run and cower from it. But I was utterly unable to.

Nina's hand was raised in midair, inches from mine. I desperately tried to pull back, but instead of the objects repelling each other like they had at first, they were pulling together like magnets. Our closed fists finally came together, and I could barely feel her cool skin against my hot fist. Still in the trance, our fingers unfurled, bringing the objects together, when suddenly there was a burst of light, and I was thrown off my feet, the light burning ice was torn from my hand, and I found myself lying on my back.

I struggled to get up, looking around the cavern. The previously spotless walls of the cave were charred and crumbling, and water was trickling across the floor in a steady stream. I looked around, searching for Senkhara and Rufus, but neither of them were to be found. Still scanning the cavern, I saw a small body strewn across the floor, and rushed over.

"Nina!" I called out, kneeling down next to her. "Nina, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Nina sputtered, her eyelids fluttering, and she looked up. Her normally blue eyes met mine, and I sighed in relief that they weren't Senkhara's. She was herself again. "Eddie! What happened to Senkhara and Rufus?" She asked, sitting up and putting a hand to her head, surveying the cave room we were currently in.

"I don't know," I admitted. "After the… explosion thing… I looked up and they were gone, and the cave was like this."

She shuddered. "They aren't here. I would feel Senkhara's presence. But where could they be?"

"Hopefully dead for the third time, and for good," I sighed, helping her up. We both looked around, before Nina suddenly rushed forward, picking up two small objects and showing them to me.

The stone cold heat and light burning ice.

With wide eyes, Nina peered closer at them, before putting the light burning ice close to my face. I flinched, before realizing what she was showing me.

The normally clear substance was shockingly blue. A far too familiar blue. My mouth stood agape, and I turned my attention to the stone cold heat.

It was a hard, flat black.

Nina grinned at me. "They… they are _in _the _rocks!_"

She handed me the light burning ice, and with a smirk, took the stone cold heat in her hand, wound up her arm and threw it with shocking speed and power at the wall. The rock shattered against rock, and the floor was soon covered in small little pieces of black rock. Following her lead, I took the blue rock in my hand and chucked it at the wall, and soon the entire floor of the cavern was blue and black.

Looking at Nina, I sighed. "How do we get out of here, though?"

Nina smiled, pointing. "See the water trickling down that path? We follow it."

***Line***

**Patricia's POV**

I just sat there, horror in my heart, and probably apparent on my face, staring at the pond. Jerome sat next to me on one side, and Mara on the other. They said nothing, though, and I didn't either. We just sat there helplessly, staring at the perfectly still pond, wishing for the slightest ripple.

Still sitting there, I realized I began holding my breath when Mara and Jerome stiffened.

There, far under the surface seemed to be something. It could be a fish, but the largeness of it suggested to me it was not. As it grew closer, my eyes widened, and I jumped up.

Nina and Eddie were swimming towards the surface. Still not knowing what had happened, I held out my hand anyway, letting it rest just above the water – I was still slightly scared of it – and soon the pair broke through, gasping.

"Patricia?" Eddie asked, grabbing my hand and letting me drag him out. Beside me, Jerome and Mara had helped Nina out of the pond. It took me a moment to register neither of them were wet. Not a drop of water was on them.

"What happened? I know Senkhara and Rufus were down there, I know. But… how did you get away?" I demanded.

Eddie sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. Rufus had control over me, and Senkhara had control over Nina. They were controlling us, but there was a random explosion, and they were stuck in the rocks, so we destroyed them and came back here. I seriously don't understand what just happened at all."

Nina stood up, thanking Jerome and Mara. "Where is Fabian?" She asked urgently.

"Back at the place you jumped," Mara said.

"Thanks," Nina said, running off.

**Nina POV:**

"Fabian!" I screamed, running through the caves, skidding around corners. I turned another corner to find the brown haired boy on his knees, next to the hole, holding his head in his hands. His back wracked with sobs.

"Fabian!" I cried again, running forward.

Fabian whirled around, his eyes, still wet with tears, widening. He jumped up, running towards me and picking me up, twirling me in a circle. "Nina! Are you okay?" He asked urgently, setting me down and grabbing my hands.

I smiled. "I'm fine. And Rufus and Senkhara are gone for good."

Fabian beamed, leaning his forehead against mine. "That's all that matters to me."

I grinned back, standing on my tiptoes to press my lips to his once more.

**Amber POV:**

My heart pounded in my chest. "Amber… I love you too. But…"

"Please, just give me another chance! I've been absolutely _terrible _to you, but just give me one more chance. I promise I'll prove it to you!" I cried.

Alfie contemplated this for a moment, before sighing and nodded.

I beamed, throwing myself into his arms and positively smashing my lips against his.

**Nina POV:**

I boarded the bus behind Fabian, ready to be rid of this place. Although the trip aside from the entire experience with Senkhara had been fine, the campsite still had an eerie feel to it. When I took my seat next to Fabian, I looked around the bus at my housemates and smiled happily. Amber and Alfie were holding hands, talking happily, finally back together. Mara and Jerome were talking in hushed whispers, and Mick had his arm around Joy, and they were both smiling. Everything seemed to have worked out for the best.

And as I snuggled into Fabian, I smiled.

Everything was absolutely perfect.


End file.
